'Cocaine Mitch' McConnell indulges in a little gloating over Don Blankenship's loss

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

last updated 9 May 2018

Washington Republicans breathed a sigh of relief when West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey won the Republican primary for November's U.S. Senate race, beating former coal executive and ex-convict Don Blankenship, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell immediately rubbed some ... salt? ... in the wounds. Blankenship had effectively based his campaign on opposition to "Cocaine Mitch" and his "Chinaperson" father-in-law, and McConnell's campaign team tweeted a photo of McConnell standing in a cloud of white powder, what looks like cocaine sprinkled over the photo, and the caption: "Thanks for playing, Don."

Blankenship could, of course, get his revenge with a write-in campaign — West Virginia's "sore loser" law means he can't run as a third-party candidate — but luckily for "Gloating Mitch," Blankenship seems to think that isn't a "viable" idea.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.