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Scott Walker Backs Patrick Morrisey in West Virginia Senate Primary

Morrisey is running for GOP nod to take on Manchin in November

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is picking up the endorsement of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Tuesday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is picking up the endorsement of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Tuesday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Tuesday endorsed West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey in his bid for the GOP nomination for Senate. 

“Attorney General Morrisey’s strong, conservative record is exactly what West Virginia needs in its next senator,” Walker said in a statement obtained first by Roll Call. 

“Patrick has fought for West Virginians while defending the rule of law, and he is ready to keep fighting for them as a champion of conservative reform in Washington, D.C.,” the governor added. 

Morrisey said in a Tuesday statement he was honored to receive the governor’s backing.

“His endorsement will excite the many conservatives across West Virginia and the nation who have rallied to our campaign,” Morrisey said. 

Morrisey is up against GOP Rep. Evan Jenkins and former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship for the right to take on Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in November. The primary is May 8.

Jenkins led Morrisey 33 to 25 percent among GOP primary voters in an automated poll conducted for the Jenkins campaign in early February. Blankenship, who served time in prison for conspiring to violate mine safety standards, earned 18 percent. 

In a November poll commissioned by a super PAC backing Morrisey, the attorney general led Jenkins 40 to 34 percent among likely primary voters.

Morrisey raised $739,000 in the final quarter of 2017, ending the year with $1.1 million. A super PAC backing him, 35th PAC, ended the year with $469,000.

Jenkins raised only $205,000 during the final quarter of the year, ending with $1.4 million. Mountain State PAC, a super PAC backing his candidacy, finished the year with just $50. 

Blankenship’s only fundraising in 2017 came from a $400,000 personal loan to his campaign. The businessman has already been up on TV, and ended with $146,000 in his account at the end of the year. 

Manchin ended the year with $4.7 million. Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the general election a Tossup

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