{"id":2237464,"date":"2024-05-05T04:05:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-05T08:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/west-virginia-senate-primary-will-test-nrscs-strategy-of-taking-sides\/"},"modified":"2024-05-05T04:08:49","modified_gmt":"2024-05-05T08:08:49","slug":"west-virginia-senate-primary-will-test-nrscs-strategy-of-taking-sides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/west-virginia-senate-primary-will-test-nrscs-strategy-of-taking-sides\/","title":{"rendered":"West Virginia Senate primary to challenge NRSC&#8217;s stance-taking strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwest-virginia-senate-primary-will-test-nrscs-strategy-of-taking-sides%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2237464&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Senate primary battle \u2064in \u200bKearneysville, West Virginia between Gov. Jim Justice and Rep. Alex Mooney is a pivotal test for \u2064the GOP Senate campaign arm&#8217;s revised strategy of\u2064 endorsing\u200b candidates in Republican primaries. The\u200d contest reflects a departure from the\u200c previous election cycle, shaping the dynamics of the upcoming election in the state. The West Virginia Senate primary\u200b clash between Governor Jim\u200c Justice and Representative Alex Mooney is a crucial test for the GOP Senate campaign arm&#8217;s new approach \u200bof supporting\u200d candidates \u2064in Republican primaries. This shift\u2064 from previous\u2064 strategies is reshaping the dynamics of the state&#8217;s upcoming election, setting the stage for a significant political\u2062 showdown.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>KEARNEYSVILLE, West Virginia \u2014<\/strong> The looming Senate primary battle between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jim-justice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Gov. Jim Justice\">Gov. Jim Justice<\/a> (R-WV) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mooneyforwv.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV)\">Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV)<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/west-virginia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"West Virginia\">West Virginia<\/a> will be the first real test of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nrsc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"GOP Senate campaign arm\">GOP Senate campaign arm<\/a>\u2019s new strategy of taking sides in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republican\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Republican\">Republican<\/a> primaries this cycle, a departure from the last election in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Nearly a year ago, the West Virginia governor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/1186978\/jim-justice-announces-run-for-joe-manchins-senate-seat\/\">announced<\/a> a run for Senate, which was a major win for national Republicans who had been recruiting the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-new-republican-ad-hits-democrats-for-surging-crime\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: New Republican Ad Hits Democrats For Surging Crime\">term-limited governor<\/a> for months. However, Mooney was already in the race and had the endorsement of the conservative <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clubforgrowth.org\/candidates\/alex-mooney\/\">Club for Growth<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Former President Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2573438\/trump-endorses-manchin-foe-jim-justice-in-vital-senate-race\/\">endorsed <\/a>Justice in the Senate race to replace outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) in October. At the time, what both sides didn\u2019t know was that Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) ultimately would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2455649\/manchin-wont-seek-senate-reelection-as-he-promises-to-fight-to-unite-the-middle\/\">decide not to run <\/a>for reelection in November, raising speculation about a third<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/spoiler-alert-prominent-leftist-scholar-announces-3rd-party-presidential-run\/\" title=\"Spoiler Alert? Prominent Leftist Scholar Announces 3rd-Party Presidential Run\">-party presidential run<\/a>. However, he ultimately <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/2863838\/manchin-reveals-why-not-running-for-president-but-wont-back-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"ruled out \">ruled out <\/a>a White House bid in February under No Labels, the centrist group that abandoned moving forward\u00a0with a bipartisan unity ticket for the 2024 presidential election. <\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) spoke exclusively to the Washington Examiner about running for Senate at a campaign event in West Virginia on Wednesday, May 2, 2024. (Amy DeLaura\/Washington Examiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This cycle, establishment Republicans are mounting their most aggressive Senate primary intervention strategy in nearly a decade, in which they worked to box out GOP candidates they viewed as weak following a lackluster 2022 performance that ended with their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/warnock-victory-zero-losses-senate-incumbents\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>minority shrinking in the upper chamber<\/a> when they took a hands-off approach.<\/p>\n<p>The National Republican Senatorial Committee has taken different strategies over the years, from getting involved in Republican primaries to completely staying out of the primary season. In 2014, the committee took a more active role in contested primaries after being burned by intraparty warfare in the previous two election cycles. That year was a major success, with Republicans taking back control of the upper chamber.<\/p>\n<p>The move has heightened tensions with the right flank of the party, who have not been shy about backing their own picks. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) have endorsed Mooney and many have campaigned with him in West Virginia. <\/p>\n<p>Cruz, who appeared alongside Mooney at a rally on Thursday, said he had not received any backlash behind the scenes for endorsing the West Virginia congressman in the Senate race.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSteve Daines is a good friend and I know my colleagues well,\u201d Cruz said ahead of the rally. \u201cA year ago, the main argument that was used within the Senate was that we need a candidate who can beat Manchin, and then that wasn\u2019t a crazy argument. It\u2019s a very different race now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt this point, it is almost indisputable that the next senator from West Virginia is going to be a Republican,\u201d he added. \u201cThe only real choice for the voters of West Virginia is this primary right now. And if you look at the records of the two candidates, there\u2019s a dramatic difference. It\u2019s not that close of a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div>\n<blockquote data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">With less than two weeks until the West Virginia Senate primary, Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mooney-gets-boost-from-ted-cruz-and-plots-upset-in-west-virginia-senate-race-people-are-in-denial\/\" title=\"Mooney fueled by Ted Cruz support, aims for upset in West Virginia Senate race despite skepticism\">downplaying recent polling showing<\/a> his opponent, Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV), leads consistently by double digits, saying they don\u2019t reflect the reality in the state: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kjPsJC2DmZ\">https:\/\/t.co\/kjPsJC2DmZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SamanthaJoRoth\/status\/1786356106136051861?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 3, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Under the leadership of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.daines.senate.gov\/\">Daines<\/a>, the NRSC has offered endorsements of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/569197\/senate-gop-campaign-arm-slams-doj-suit-against-jim-justice-totally-rogue\/\">Justice<\/a> and many other Senate candidates including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jim-banks\">Rep. Jim Banks<\/a> (R-IN), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kari-lake\/\">Kari Lake<\/a> in Arizona, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/2846774\/republicans-candidate-flip-nevada-senate-sam-brown\/\">Sam Brown<\/a> in Nevada, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2848543\/trump-endorses-tim-sheehy-for-montana-senate-seat\/\">Tim Sheehy<\/a> in Montana, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/2858800\/wisconsin-businessman-eric-hovde-launch-tammy-baldwin-challenge\/\">Eric Hovde<\/a> in Wisconsin, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2455001\/david-mccormick-jumps-into-pennsylvania-senate-race-against-bob-casey\/\">Dave McCormick<\/a> in Pennsylvania, Nella Domenici in New Mexico, and former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/2847355\/larry-hogan-launching-senate-maryland-campaign-2024\/\">Gov. Larry Hogan<\/a> in Maryland. The committee remained neutral in the Ohio Senate race, but ultimately endorsed Bernie Moreno after he won the primary. <\/p>\n<p>The NRSC is defending its strategy this cycle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe NRSC is proud to stand with President Trump in supporting Gov. Justice,\u201d said Mike Berg, the committee\u2019s communications director.<\/p>\n<p>The five-term congressman is facing an uphill battle against the state\u2019s popular two-term governor, who has been <a href=\"https:\/\/projects.fivethirtyeight.com\/polls\/senate\/2024\/west-virginia\/\">leading<\/a> by double digits consistently. Mooney insists he should not be underestimated and took jabs at Justice, who ran for his first term as governor with Manchin\u2019s support when he was a Democrat. Justice would then announce in 2017 that he was rejoining the GOP.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaking at an event endorsing Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) for West Virginia Senate on Wednesday, May 2, 2024. (Amy DeLaura\/Washington Examiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe establishment has backed and recruited my opponent, and West Virginians deserve a clear choice in this election \u2014 you don\u2019t always get that \u2014 you have a choice between two squishes, two establishments, two moderates, or one establishment person in this case,\u201d Mooney said in an interview with the <em>Washington Examiner. <\/em>\u201cYou have a clear choice, they deserve that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t need more liberal Republicans who vote like Democrats [in Washington],\u201d Mooney added. \u201cJim Justice is just like Joe Manchin, He\u2019s Joe Manchin 2.0, he\u2019s Democrat light.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Justice continues <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/1153538\/business-and-financial-questions-loom-over-jim-justices-west-virginia-senate-bid\/\">to face scrutiny<\/a> over a string of legal challenges against his family\u2019s coal empire. Voters who attended Mooney\u2019s rally raised concerns about the governor\u2019s connection to companies that continue to face litigation over unpaid bills and taxes.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>FILE \u2013 West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice speaks during an announcement at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., April 27, 2023. Certain sexual assaults against a spouse will now be criminalized in West Virginia for the first time under a law signed Friday, March 22, 2024, by Justice. (AP Photo\/Chris Jackson, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cJim Justice is corrupt, he owes millions of dollars of taxes and hasn\u2019t paid them,\u201d said Renee Jones-Wagner, a voter who lives in Hedgesville, West Virginia, and attended the rally. \u201cHe\u2019s a Democrat that switched over to Republican, but he passes laws and things like a Democrat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robert Brostrom, a voter who works in cybersecurity for a defense contractor, said he\u2019s frustrated national Republicans decided to get involved in this primary, but said ultimately he would support the candidate who becomes the Republican nominee.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJim is tainted in terms of being a Democrat before and is he a true Republican? Maybe, but I think Alex really is,\u201d Brostrom said. \u201cI want a Republican majority. If it\u2019s Justice, I\u2019m OK with that. But, since we are in the primary season, I want Alex to win.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Justice\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-gets-a-visitor-at-mar-a-lago-who-is-reportedly-on-his-vp-short-list\/\" title=\"Trump receives a visitor at Mar-a-Lago, potentially on his VP shortlist\">campaign pushed back<\/a> on the critiques, saying West Virginians overwhelmingly support the governor\u2019s bid for Senate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has a strong record of conservative accomplishments from the largest tax cut in state history, economic development and creating thousands of jobs across the state, record budget surpluses, a pro-life champion, and defender of our Second Amendment,\u201d said Roman Stauffer, Justice\u2019s campaign manager in a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner.<\/em> \u201cHe is the Donald Trump endorsed America First candidate for U.S. Senate in this race, and he will win this race in a landslide,\u201d Stauffer added.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are 34 Senate seats up for grabs in the 2024 election cycle. Of those, Democrats must defend 23, compared to just 11 for Republicans, and nearly all competitive seats are held by Democrats. After Manchin decided not to run for reelection, the nonpartisan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cookpolitical.com\/analysis\/senate\/west-virginia-senate\/manchin-retirement-democratic-held-seat-moves-solid-republican\">Cook Political Report <\/a>changed the rating of the contest to solid Republican. The West Virginia Senate primary will be held on Tuesday, May 14.<\/p>\n<p>Justice or Mooney will go on to face the Democratic candidate who wins the primary. Manchin recently endorsed Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott, who was an aide to Democratic Sen. Robert C. Byrd and is pro-union.\u00a0Elliott is facing former coal company CEO Don Blankenship, who unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination for the seat in 2018, and Marine Corps veteran Zach Shrewsbury for the Democratic nomination.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Kearneysville, West Virginia, the upcoming Senate primary clash between Governor Jim Justice and Representative Alex Mooney marks a critical trial for the GOP Senate campaign arm&#8217;s revised approach of endorsing candidates in Republican primaries this election cycle, a shift from the previous 2022 elections<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2657,"featured_media":2237465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/DSC00009-1024x684.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2237464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/DSC00009-1024x684.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2237464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2657"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2237464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2237464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2237465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2237464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2237464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2237464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}