He could not beat him, and he is sure not going to join him.
Ex-West Virginia coal executive Don Blankenship is plotting how to kneecap the Senate candidacy of GOP Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, his campaign manager said Thursday.
Greg Thomas, an adviser and campaign manager for Blankenship, told the "Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval" podcast that Blankenship will not support his former rival, and that "all options are on the table."
"Don Blankenship will not be supporting Patrick Morrisey for U.S. Senate," Thomas told the podcast.
"I think the one thing he is going to make sure doesn't happen is that Patrick Morrisey does not become a U.S. Senator."
Pressed on why, pointed to Morrisey's New Jersey roots, saying "he's not going to sit back and let a corrupt carpetbagger highjack our party."
Blankenship came in third place behind both Morrisey and Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.Va., in last Tuesday's GOP primary in West Virginia.
Thomas did not elaborate on just how Blankenship would try to influence the November election, either by spending against Morrisey or backing a third-party candidate.
"Don Blankenship does not believe it should be Patrick Morrisey," Thomas said. "He also does not believe it should be [incumbent Democratic Sen.] Joe Manchin."
"We've only just begun," he added.
Signs of last-minute momentum for Blankenship sparked alarm bells around Washington, where the GOP leadership thought a Blankenship victory would make it harder for the party to defeat Manchin in the midterm vote, The Hill reported.
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