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Article snippet: National Republicans are feeling increasingly optimistic about their chances of avoiding an intra-party bloodbath in the West Virginia Senate primary. A spate of recent polling shows ex-coal CEO Don Blankenship fading into third place in the primary race, after an outside group with ties to the national GOP spent heavily to sink his candidacy. That’s a U-turn from last month, when Blankenship was locked in a heated three-way race with state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Rep. MORE (D-W.Va.). With Blankenship fading, GOP strategists say they are seeing positive signs that they’ll be able to avoid a repeat of last year’s Alabama special election — where controversial Republican May 8 primary fight enters its final days. "It looks like it’s dropped off into a pretty competitive two-way race [between Jenkins and Morrisey]," said a national GOP strategist watching the race. The strategist added that the two candidates differ from Blankenship in an important way: "Neither of them have been to jail for mine safety violations." But some are cautioning that the GOP isn’t out of the woods yet, pointing to primaries from past cycles when candidates viewed as unelectable advanced to the general election — and later went on to lose critical races. “There are positive signs, but you can’t assume that’s a done deal yet,” said Republican strategist Doug Heye. “Given that traditionally what we’ve seen over the past few years, arguments of electability haven’t exactly work... Link to the full article to read more