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Blankenship Ballot Bid Heads to West Virginia Supreme Court
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Convicted former coal CEO Don Blankenship’s last chance to get his name on the ballot in November’s U.S. Senate race in West Virginia begins at a hearing before the state Supreme Court.
The court is scheduled to hear Blankenship’s appeal of a decision denying his third-party candidacy application today (Wednesday).
Secretary of State Mac Warner blocked Blankenship’s bid to run as the Constitution Party’s nominee, based on the state’s “sore loser” law. It prohibits major party primary candidates who lose from switching to a minor party. Blankenship finished third in the Republican primary in May.
Blankenship is the former CEO of Massey Energy, which owned a mine where a 2010 explosion killed 29 miners. He spent a year in federal prison for violating safety regulations.