State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has won a contentious Republican primary for U.S. Senate in West Virginia, beating convicted ex-coal executive Don Blankenship.
Morrisey also outdistanced Congressman Evan Jenkins and three others in Tuesday's race.
Morrisey will face incumbent Democrat Joe Manchin in November. Both parties view the general election as key to Senate control for the next two years.
The primary became a test of President Trump's clout. He came out strongly against Blankenship, who served prison time for a deadly mine disaster.
A two-term attorney general, Morrisey promoted his record of challenging policies under the administration of former President Barack Obama.
Morrisey deflected criticism of his past lobbying ties to the pharmaceutical industry and his roots in New Jersey, where he lost a 2000 congressional race.
Blankenship conceded, saying that he "didn't get it done" and "failed West Virginians," but he warned that "the Republican Party needs to be careful about being hijacked."
Establishment Republicans and President Donald Trump warned voters not to back the former coal executive who spent time in federal prison for his role in a 2010 mine explosion that killed 29 miners.
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