Article snippet: West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is projected to win the GOP Senate primary, ending Republican fears that ex-coal executive Don Blankenship could win the nomination and blow Republican chances in November for a key Senate seat. The Associated Press called the race at 10:19 p.m. EDT. Morrisey defeated his leading GOP rivals, Blankenship and Rep. MORE in November. The attorney general’s victory means Republicans fended off the possibility of a win by Blankenship, who served a year-long prison sentence for violating mine safety standards following a deadly mine explosion that killed 29 people. In the final days of the primary, Republicans were growing increasingly worried that Blankenship would hurt the party’s ability to unseat Manchin, even though MORE won West Virginia more than 40 points in 2016. The party feared a repeat of last year’s Alabama special election, when Democrats pulled off a huge upset victory in a deep-red state. Republican MORE, a conservative firebrand, won the nomination, but ultimately lost the general election to now-Sen. Doug Jones (D) when the Washington Post reported allegations that Moore molested teenagers decades earlier. Throughout the campaign, Blankenship repeatedly called for new leadership and sparred with Senate Majority Leader MORE (R-Ky.) and his allies. Blankenship nicknamed McConnell “Cocaine Mitch” and “swamp captain.” But he has raised eyebrows for referring to McConnell’s father-in-law as a “China person,” a... Link to the full article to read more