we have invited to appear on the story as well, he wool be joined by don blankenship. on peter doocy on why this west virginia race is being so closely watched around the nation. hi, peter. >> the reason the stakes are so high in coal country the winner gets on ballot against senator joe manchin in a state where president trump beat hillary clinton by 42 points. that makes it one of the republicans' best opportunities to flip a seat. a fox news poll finds the top 3 are congressman evan jenkins, attorney general patrick morsey and a former colbert ron don blankenship. a quarter of likely voters are undecided and 41% might change their minds. there is a fight between jenkins, the congressman and morsey the a.g. who has been the most helpful to president trump. jenkins brags he was the only one to endorse trump in the presidential primaries and only one in d.c. right now casting votes to advance the trump agenda. while morici argues he has been doing more to help trumps by filing lawsuits to undo energy coal killers and lawsuits reigning in the opioid epidemic. in third p

you seem to be ignoring don blankenship a bit. if you like the republicans are taking care a lot of advocates. here's one that you just ran. let's play about ten seconds of this. >> pat morrissey betrayed donald trump. scheming again trump's campaign and west in west virginia. denying art choice for president. morrissey refused to support trump over hillary. >> martha: you know the patrick morrissey is fighting back. he doesn't like that at all. he said your campaign photoshop is a photo with donald trump and substituted it with hillary, he's said he's always strongly opposed and wants to know if you'll be called out for lying, dishonesty, where is the countability. what you say about that ada? >> patrick morrissey needs to be honest with the people of west virginia. patrick morrissey didn't even vote for donald trump in the primary. he was the delegate to the national convention, would not commit for about 2.5 months. he was a never-trumper. he surrounded by all the other folks who are never-trumpers. patrick morrissey has never

they say the former coal ceo, don blankenship was up there with him but now solidly in third place.y can hold on to west virginia that i have a slim chance of taking back the majority in the senate. peter doocy has more. >> this republican primary is about trying to appear the closest to president trump that you can. the latest effort by one of the candidates to come across as the most authentic trump supporter comes with this ad from the congressman evan jenkins campaign. >> pat morisy denied our choice for president. he refused to support trump over hillary. >>s that an official campaign ad that has a phony photo. now the morrisey campaign is calling out jenkins by publishing the original and tweeting this comment. he said my picture was photo shopped with hillary and substituted it with hillary who i have always supposed. will the media calling out jenkins for his lying? where is the accountability? on debate stages so far the last few weeks, morrisey and jenkins have been bashing each other while don blankenship takes it in. he's trying to cash in on the notoriety that came from

what do you think of don blankenship? a good bet to take the seat for the republican party or is he the only one that joe manchin could definitely defeat? >> i think the attorney general patrick morrisey is a far better candidate with experience and name i.d. in the state but there is something going on in the party, similar echoes in the senate primary in indiana where republicans are running up to trump, wearing the hat, hugging him and so you will see republicans nationally running closer to trump where people who are skeptical are just leaving. witness paul ryan announcing his resignation, and richard painter, the former bush administration ethics guru who is now running as a democrat for the senate in minnesota. >> everyone stay right there. we have a lot more to talk about. we'll take a quick break and we'll be right back. [ drum roll ] ...emily lapier from ames, iowa. this is emily's third nomination and first win. um...so, just...wow! um, first of all, to my fellow nominees, it is an honor sharing the road with yo

businessman don blankenship rounds out the top three with 16%.hat means those three candidates will join martha maccallum and me for a debate in west virginia about this senate seat. will bring it to life or morgantown may 1 at 6:30 p.m. eastern time. this kicks off our america election headquarters series. for more on the state of that race and the g.o.p. candidates vying for joe manchin's senate seat, we turned peter doocy who reports my from charleston. >> three republicans sit atop the fox news poll of likely primary voters in the mountain state but their support is hardly set in stone. 41% say their pick might switch. secretive super pacs are spending big to try to sway them. duty and country spent almost $700,000 against congressman evan jenkins. >> evan jenkins can't be trusted. >> jenkins reasons democrats must be worried about him. >> it's when the democrats are trying to beat you in a primary, that ought to tell you something. to speak of $40,000 of democratic money directed at the republican attorney general patrick morrisey. >> after

one of them is don blankenship. he works in the coal industry. in "the new york times" they wrote don blankenship is running for the united states senate as a proud west virginian with appalachian roots but his primary residence is a $2.4 million villa with palm trees and an infinity pool near las vegas. do you think his opponents will bring that up? >> probably a little bit. probably a little bit. this race has been very sharp elbowed. very rough. blankenship's biggest exposure is he was imprisoned, he was convicted of federal violations on mine safety and health stuff and conspiracy charge and spent a year in prison. he said this is evidence that he was a victim of obama, etc, etc. he tried to turn it into a positive. now you see mitch mcconnell, it's hard to tell which way the senate establishment is pulling in this race but one would think congressman evan jenkins is the chalk there. the attacks are coming fast and furious on blankenship. we've seen his poll numbers probably erode a bit. the debate represents his probably best chance to reset

not don blankenship.were caught pumping toxic sludge into water supplies. >> it is paid for the mountain families pact. they have paid money to political firms with ties to snathd majority leader mitch mcconnell. they say they should stop with him. he would make beating joe manchin more difficult. we'll be back with more "mtp daily" and more on the circumstantial evidence piling up against the president in 60 seconds. (vo) dogs have evolved, but their nutritional needs remain instinctual. that's why there's purina one true instinct. real meat #1. a different breed of natural nutrition. purina one true instinct. now, try new purina one true instinct treats. >>> welcome back, let bring in vice president daniella. let's talk about the bigger feeling here that washington feels like something giant. the rest of the country is not quite there yet, right? but there is something about look, i think the mueller indictment that we know will probably come next is who he di indicts for the crime of stealing the e-mai

and chef boyardee's evil twin, don blankenship. blankenship wins the primary, the g.o.p. will lose because blankenship is what analysts refer to as "a complete tool." ( laughter ) you see, he was c.e.o. of massey energy during a mine disaster that killed 29 people. and he was criminally charged with "conspiracy to violate federal mine safety standards," after massey "manipulated the ventilation system during inspections of the mine to fool safety officials" and "was sentenced to a year in prison"-- though he thinks he's the real victim, saying, "i am an american political prisoner." yes, he truly is the nelson mandela of tampering with mine safety equipment. ( laughter ) ( applause ) but-- yeah, yeah. blankenship fans. ( applause ) yeah. but just when you start to fall in love with the guy, you find out as massey c.e.o, he "injected toxic coal slurry near underground aquifers, a practice that has allegedly sickened hundreds of residents." but, look, he knows clean water is a human right, so he had "his company pay to build a waterl

the spending suggests that these republicans super packs don't want don blankenships to represent theop. he's a former coal boss. so why would democrats want to boot him? >> a whole host of reasons. they think that manchin can beat me and can't beat them. i don't think that's the case at all. could be they don't like me. i don't know. >> one of the republicans called duty and country is trying to tank congressman evan jenkins. >> over the last few weeks, nancy pelosi, chuck schumer and their dark money pacts have been pushing tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars into west virginia. when the democrats are trying to beat you in a primary, that ought to tell you something. >> the attorney general, patrick morsy is dropping republican leaders. >> i like scott walker. rand paul just endorsed me. other folks in the senate are very thoughtful. there's a lot of folks that care about concepts of freedom, limit government. that's my model. >> this is a race where everybody is trying to cast themselves as the biggest ally to president trump and we're going to know more about where

don blankenship has fallen to third.licans breathing a sigh of relief and a chance that it could slip to red? >> if you can't answer the following question easily, you shouldn't be in the senate. have you been in federal prison recently? >> the president is too easy for some people. >> yeah. so clearly if he wins the primary, it's a contest. don't underestimate manchin. he's a good buy, a good politician. should be a state we do well. the only way we could lose is nominate somebody that has been in jail recently. >> and how about those that could go for a republican over joe manchin? he's a blue collar democrat. are democrats that voted for trump going to switcher that vote from trump to a manchin candidate even if they're pro trump? >> a really good question. you have to make it about trump. if you believe in this man, president trump, he's going to give you a better life, the economy is getting better and joe manchin is an unreliable supporters, that's how you get a trump democrat to vote against manchin. >> he didn't

for a convicted felon don blankenship who spent a year in jail for his role in a --. >>> the a.p. republicans are making clinton the start of their midterm election strategy despite the fact that she currently holds no position of power, isn't running for anything, but republicans are betting big the ghost will serve them well in to 1. amy chozick is joining me. you spent a lot of time with hillary clinton. >> a lot. >> what is your reaction to seeing that story in the a.p. about how -- she's not in public life anymore and they're going to try to run against her in the 2018 miss terms. >> it's unbelievable. they're betting on a pavlovian response of even seeing her face. i write when i first met her when i was 16 growing up in texas, everyone i knew hated her. there's been a large psych of the hillary hating. i thought one she stepped back we wouldn't see it, but clearly we still are. >> the book is a really interesting book, very well written. you write about some conclusions you come to about the campaign and the campaign coverage that maybe you didn't see at the time, particula

not invited to sit near the president, the third republican in the primary race, don blankenship, thel executive who went to prison for his role in a mine scleegs th-- mine expt killed 29 people in 2010. some are worried that he could win the primary and that a flawed gop candidate would make it easier for senator manchin to keep his job. coming up, the senate top republicans warning to his party about the potential hurricane coming their way in november. we're back with more "mtp daily" in 60 seconds. >>> welcome back. as we said, president trump is ramping up the tough talk on immigration by deploying the national guard to the southwest border and the trump administration released new figures showing a three-fold rise in the legal border crosses last month after what had been a historic low last year. but the president hasn't made clear how many troom troops will be sent to the border and for ow long and they need state leaders to agree because they take their instructions from governors. one is deeply troubled by the plan to mill tarrize our border. this is not unprecedented. both

is don blankenship going to be the next donald trump, at least from west virginia or is he going to endroy moore. if you forced me to pick today i would certainly pick roy moore but you never know. the national and state republican lead remembers apoplectic that he is doing as well as he has been doing in both public and private polls. balls at least they think -- and they are republican leaders. they think that he would lose rather badly to senator joe manchin. >> i'm a little confused how a man who opened a mine that had an explosion that killed 29 men can be doing well in a state comprised of coal workers. >> you know, katy, you have got a lot of company. we have all been food for years, because of donald trump, and everything that's happened since. i have a hard time believing he will be the nominee in the end. and this is a very serious matter. the man served prison time. >> 29 people died. i mean that's as serious as it gets. >> exactly. sure. he was in charge. he is a colberton or was a colberton. it is absolutely remarkable. but i will tell you why, he is outtrumping trump in th

his name is don blankenship. don's base of support is greater than the other candidates.ands of west virginias have worked for don and understand what he's done for the conservative cause. the other two candidates are well-known where they love. patrick mo patri patrick morisey. and coal is a central part of patrick morisey's pick. he's picking up support from rand paul and many others. he said -- >> the other huge factor in this race is an allegiance to. trump. congressman evan jenkins says his support dates back the longest. he said -- >> west virginiians are weighing all of these arguments carefully. a quarter of them undecided. 41% say they could still change their minds, jon. >> jon: a lot of changing going on in the weeks ahead. peter doocy, thank you. once again, you can catch the big west virginia gop senate debate tomorrow on fox news channel moderated by bret baier and martha maccallum. it begins at 6:30 p.m. east entime. >> could be a major break through for the koreas. the new promises from north korea on their nuclear program. can the rogue nation be trusted?

republican don blankenship stands with president trump. >> they want hillary.ublican candidates for the u.s. senate tying themselves to president trump. joining us now, "new york times" reporter jeremy peters. jeremy, you're writing about these candidates' efforts and how they are and are not working out. tell us about it. >> that arrest hillary one gets me every time. you think about the way that donald trump has thoroughly rewritten the political rules of engagement, mika, and this is one of the more striking examples. politicians used to think that trump had his own set of rules. the laws of political gravity did not apply to him and that they would be penalized if they tried to act like him. that's no longer the case and in the most glaring example there that you just played, you have somebody like don blankenship who stands a really decent chance of becoming the republican nominee for senate in west virginia actually saying shut down these investigations into donald trump and arrest hillary clinton. so it's one of the ways that the tone of politics, the ci

don blankenship who spent a year in jail after the explosion at the mine. the more important issue here is one facing the country. the opioid crisis number one by far, followed by the economy, immigration and healthcare. is this end of the world? i'll bring in a panel and discuss it next. charles: stocks getting walloped today. expwhrieng to help break it down for you, chief technical strategist at money morning.com. and lindsey bell, research investment strategist at cfra. lindsey. it was interesting. the earnings reports were phenomenal. ed the earnings reports were higher. why is the market so jittery. what is perceived as good news within minutes could be perceived as disastrous news. the cfo of caterpillar said this could be the high water mark quarter. i don't know why analysts were upset about that. the market, they have been relying on these earnings to hold it up. while the earnings have been good, it doesn't seem like the many enough for the market to continue. >> perhaps clumsy handling. you had the cf new york this particular case. when i see ca

and to the was worn by don blankenship who never took it off. >> is a veteran, a good guy who deservesl chance. >> now blankenship's latest attack on the establishment is raising eyebrows because the former coal baron who did a year in jail on a misdemeanor on the disaster the 29 is talking about the affinity of labor secretary elaine chao, the wife of mitch mcconnell. >> i have an issue when the father-in-law is a wealthy counter person and a lot of connections. >> reporter: a fox news poll finds blankenship trails congressman jenkins and atty. gen. patrick morrissey. >> seconds is a frog, spent 20 years as a career april democrat supporting nancy pelosi, john kerry, rallying for hillary clinton. >> bob morrissey locked horns with jenkins over regulations. >> make sure you have your facts. >> your new jersey approach of trying to interrupt, why don't you let me finish? >> jenkins reminds republicans morrissey ran for congress in new jersey at the turn-of-the-century and denigrates morrissey as someone with new jersey values. >> i called him out in a fun way at the debate last night be

a 3-man race, evan jenkins, and the wildcard in this race, businessman don blankenship, the only candidaten the race fighting a federal criminal conviction concurrent with campaigning. west virginia politics never disappoints. >> like west virginia. >> these were important, polling for west virginia voters especially those interested in the primary. the opioid crisis hit the state hard. that is number one close behind the economy, immigration and healthcare, how does that factor into the administration and the decisions primary and general election voters make. >> the opioid crisis is reflected, a guy who didn't make the debate stage iv is in low single digits, proposing waterboarding, and pushing them to the extreme. joe mention in the 30s for approval among republicans, no matter what, will be tough whoever comes out of this, if almost a third of republicans think he is an okay guy. shannon: people across the state. they love joe mention. i saw the ad. great to have you with us on latebreaking news night tonight. martha maccallum to moderate this, the west virginia gop senate debate at 6

we'll talk to one of the candidates vying for the gop nomination, don blankenship, coming up next.e on stage. i wanted to be clear. i wanted it to last. so i kept on fighting. i found something that worked. and keeps on working. now? they see me. see me. see if cosentyx could make a difference for you- cosentyx is proven to help people with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...find clear skin that can last. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting cosentyx, you should be checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms. or if you have received a vaccine or plan to. if you have inflammatory bowel disease, tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. never give up. see me. see me. clear skin can last. don't hold back... ...ask your dermatologist if cosentyx can help you find clear skin that lasts. packing to the last minute. guys, i have a couple of things to wash we got this. even on quick cycle, tide pods cleans g

don blankenship served a year in prison for working conditions linked to the deadliest u.s.in four decades, he was the head of the mining company at the time. he reminds us it was just a misdemeanor, but it is one of the reasons that republicans don't want him to win the primary in december, who will take on democrat joe manchin. there's another reason for their reluctance, take a listen. >> there's a reason that the republican members don't want you to be the nominee, because they think joe manchin will beat you easily. >> they don't really believe that, what they believe is i'm going to win and they don't want me to be, i'm an extreme donald trump supporter and we have to make a change and they don't want that change to be made because they're benefiting from it. >> gop political strategist kevin mclaughlin, and kevin was working with the republican national party in west virginia the last time republicans tried to beat joe manchin, which is why i wanted to bring you on here. >> absolutely. >> let me start with that idea that republican leaders are concerned about, you kno

>> dana: i wanted to ask you about the outside candidate don blankenship and how he factors in?reporter: blankenship told me he thinks both of the candidates general kins and morrisey are partly responsible for the opioid epidemic in this state because the problem has not gotten better since they were elected to their offices. >> the wall is important. ending sanctuary cities is important. drug testing public officials, particularly teachers and judges and prosecutors is important. >> reporter: blankenship recently got out of prison tied to safety violations as his time as ceo of massey energy. he does not think that conviction or the jail time will have any impact. dana? >> dana: all right, peter doocy, thank you. remembering barbara bush. how the former first lady helped foster a whole generation of young readers. okay folks! let's team up to get the lady of the house back on her feet. and help her feel more strength and energy in just two weeks yaaay! the complete balanced nutrition of (great tasting) ensure with 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. ensure. always

candidates are staging a fight against a third gop candidate recently released federal prisoner don blankenshipthe massie company explosion killed 29 miners. he portrayed himself as the victim of an obama justice department. but republicans are concerned about blankenship's rise and they have decided to intervene. deneen borelli, i was struck by the configuration of the room. but he sat near the kitchen. it was a seriously direct-indirect diss. >> it's about time they got involved in which candidate they should be supporting. the alabama race made the republicans look like a laughingstock. it's about time they took a stand. charles: even in pennsylvania people said this is not a great candidate. but by default he was given a role. >> it's important to vet niece individualniece -- vet these in. republicans have the chance to hold on to congress, the house and the senate. but we need hard core principles and conservatives when they get to washington we wonder, who are these people? charles: we saw tonight virginia, not trump, then trying to embrace trump didn't work. it feels like at least when i

don blankenship who spent a year on misdemeanor charges. >> ending the sanctuary cities is importantrug testing teachers, judges and prosecutors is important. >> his ideas mirror the president and he believes jenkins and morrisey had a chance and blew it. >> i think both are responsible for the epidemic because they have not done enough. >> it's rare for there to be a competitive republican primary in this state. this is the most details that republicans have gotten in debates about opioids in year. there is urgency because the cdc says west virginia has the highest death rate of from overdoses. >> join us for a debate among the republican senate candidates in west virginia. we will bring it to you live from morgantown, may 1st at 6:30 p.m. eastern time. this starts our america election headquarters series across the country. the top democrat in the senate supports making marijuana legal under federal law. chuck schumer said he will introduce a bill to take pot off the list of controlled substantes. his bill would let states decide how to treat marijuana potion. eight states allow re

. >> rounding out the top tier, don blankenship. the former coal baron wore a hat for a republican's campaign that was not invited. blankenship is best known in west virginia as being a former coal baron that recently served a year in jail on a misdemeanor conviction that killed 29 people in a cave collapse. he's spending a million dollars on this race and really disrupting things. >> neil: thanks, peter. we're going to put this in perspective here. the win by the republican candidate was five points in a district that the president won by 20 points. however, the president is pleased never the lease and republicans are seizing on this as a development that interrupts a trend that democrats have been seizing on to say. they're in a big heap of trouble. might be, but this race seems to fly in the face of that. let's get the read on all of this with the conservative millennial blogger. we have michael starr hopkins, a democratic strategist. gabby, we begin with you and your talk on the size of this win. a win is a win. democrats are qu

there is a republican candidate, don blankenship. people might remember his name. he went to jail for a period of time because of his ownership of a coal mine that had a bit of a disaster and explosion and killed 29 people. mitch mcconnell doesn't want this guy to be the nominee, i don't think, even less so now. listen to what blankenship had to say about mitch mcconnell. >> when the father-in-law is a wealthy chinaperson. >> he's talking about mitch mcconnell's wife elaine chao. it's remarkable to hear that statement by a candidate. it's a pretty -- >> sure, i think this will call attention to the need to have good candidates that are strong with the gop and strong on conservative values and this will highlight this particular race and make sure that we nominate a candidate that will not only do well in the primary and also win in the general election. i do want to call attention to the race we had in arizona where we had the republican candidate win. >> that goes to show that the gop getting in early in these elections and educating voters on the issues and the c

. >> criminal don blankenship.ny got caught pumping 1.4 billion gallons of toxic coal slurry, contaminating water supplies. isn't there enough toxic sludge in washington? >>> we have to get the best people. we need to get the best and the finest and if we don't, we'll be in trouble for a long period of time. maybe never come out of it. >> an update tonight ob one of donald trump's best people, epa chief scott pruitt. nick mulvaney telling a house committee today he will investigate pruitt for spending $43,000 on installing a soundproof phone booth in his office in an apparent violation of the law. and tonight, abc news reports on the foia they filed on pruitt's controversial trip to morocco last december, an odd location for the head of the epa. they got that back with large portions of pruitt's schedule blacked out. you will recall he allegedly promoted liquid natural gas exports on that trip and at that time, there was only one u.s. company exporting liquid natural gas whose lobbyist arranged the now $50 a night

don blankenship is his name. he was convicted of a charge for conspiracy to skirt mine safety laws. he served a year and he was formerly the ceo of massey energy when its upper big branch mine had an explosion that killed 29. but, his pitch is that enemies of coal in dc engineered the case against him. >> i think they saw what obama did to the industry. they know that i was working for the coal industry and west virginia and our west virginia conservative politics. probably doesn't surprise them that much that obama and his people would come after me. and they did. they failed because they didn't win any of the felony convictions and they won a misdemeanor that was made up. so i think they know that now. >> reporter: two other candidates in this race are just trying to present themselves as the best trump ally. the president won by 42 points here in 2016. state's attorney general said he's been doing his best from the state capitol to advance the president's agenda. >> i think we already have been working well with president trump. at the beginning of his administration, we worked c

running this ad. >> convicted criminal don blankenship. got caught pumping 1.4 billion gallons of toxic coal slurry estimating water supplies. >> reporter: and democrats are jumping in to tear down evan jenkins and patrick morrissey. two leading gop candidates they consider bigger threats to manchin. it's the first time blanken ship is on the ballot, but he's spend years using his wealth to build the republican passenger in virginia, which he says gives him goodwill with gop voters. >> it looks like the gop attacks on blankenship could be working. a new poll shows blankenship is trailing in third place, but he has something the other republican candidates don't have and that's money. he's really rich and he's spending a lot of his own money. he told me he's not even keeping track of how much money he's spending because he said if he did, he may stop. >> thank you. >>> there's much more breaking news right after this. joy! what? hey, thomas! whatcha doing? mother's day shopping. okay. any ideas? well, everyone wants the iphone. and they wan

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republican don blankenship stands with president trump. >> what a sweetheart he is.blicans like ted cruz who are vehemently anti-trump during the 2016 campaign are now singing his praises. that's coming up next with the "hardball" round table. you might take something for your heart... or joints. but do you take something for your brain. with an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is the number one selling brain-health supplement in drug stores nationwide. prevagen. the name to remember. i needthat's whenvice foi remembered that my ex-ex- ex-boyfriend actually went to law school, so i called him. he didn't call me back! if your ex-ex- ex-boyfriend isn't a lawyer, call legalzoom and we'll connect you with an attorney. legalzoom. where life meets legal. >>> welcome back to "hardball." there was no love lost between donald trump and ted cruz during the 2016 campaign. >> his father was with lee harvey oswald prior to oswald's being, you know, shot. i mean, the whole thing is ridiculous. >> this man is a pathological liar. he doesn't know the difference bet

in the wild card, a businessman, don blankenship, who is the only candidate in the race who is fighting criminal conviction concurrent, it was for a mine disaster, concurrent with campaigning. this has been a wild race in west virginia politics, never disappointing. >> shannon: you should know. all years, there is not a year, like 2010 or whatever, mr. west virginia. these are the top issues, i thought these were important and interesting, that came out of the polling for west virginia voters, those interested in the primary. the opioid crisis, which has had that stayed very hard, number one close behind the economy, followed by immigration and health care. out of these things factor into the conversation of the decisions that primary and general election voters will make? >> the opioid crisis at the top of the list is reflected, these guys, there's a guy who did not make the debate stage, running in the low single-digit and other polls. he was proposing waterboarding people who are caught selling opioids. it is pushing them to the extreme. my most interesting nugget in that format, tho

that candidate with a criminal record is don blankenship, the former ceo of the massey energy companyll known in west virginia for, among other a misdemeanor charge of conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards. following an explosion at the upper big branch mine that killed 29. he thinks it gives him a leg up. >> that was a point for coal industry and west virginia conservative politics. he probably doesn't surprise them that much that obama and his people would come after me and they did. >> he makes them a primary a three-way contest with congressman evan jenkins in the state's attorney general patrick morrisey. the winner faces incumbent democratic senator joe manchin who declined to be interviewed for this story. in a state president trump won by 42 percentage points or 2016. inspiring governor jim justice to jump ship from the democratic party. >> i will be changing my registration to republican! >> now the ag is trying to discredit one of his opponents for his past affiliation as a democrat. >> i think evan jenkins is liberal. >> jenkins, the congressman, is using morr

notably, one of the gentlemen reportedly not there is don blankenship, who is running for office as aere. excuse me, let's listen in to the president. [applause] jim is doing ag good job, much better since he turned republican. [laughter] i have known him for a long time. he is incredible. he is doing a great job as governor. thank you. i appreciate it. he doesn't want to talk. he is the biggest governor, too. thanks, jim. it is wonderful to be back in west virginia, a special place during the election for me to it was not even close -- for me. it was not even close. [applause] thereof things happened, are a lot of things you are doing in west virginia. you are one of the most successful, percentagewise, in the nation. i could not say that during the election. before we got elected, it was not doing so well. proud, because you are special people. [applause] nice hat. look at that beautiful hat. i want to thank jim and the attorney general, senator -- hello, shelly. alex, davidjenkins, mckinley for being here. thank you. [applause] now you see that america is open for business. the num

but the third republican, a fellow who used to run massi energy, don blankenship was not invited to theaster out there. what do you make of the choice, west virginians have regarding the three republicans? >> well, there's a very clear choice. yes, don blankenship just got out of federal prison, serving a conviction following the tragic disaster of ubb, 29 brave west virginia coal miners lost their life yesterday, tragically, was a memorial event for that, the anniversary. so there is a clear choice, don blarchenship has use you had his checkbook to propel himself into second place for the u.s. senate nomination and the republican party. i'm leading in the polls. it's a clear choice between me and joe manchin. it's an opportunity to elect, nominate somebody in the primary who can actually beat joe manchin. that's what this is a mission to make sure that chuck schumer doesn't get anywhere close to the majority leader's office. and we can do that and pick up a much needed republican seat by nominating me, evan jenkins. don blarchenship is on a ventricle detective attachment is he using hi

. >> and the wild card in the race businessman don blankenship a coal barren. any official experience fighting opioids but he did recently pitch drug testing for public employees. >> bill: interesting race. thank you, peter. we'll be in contact. peter doocy live in charleston. >> sandra: the fox news channel will bring you to west virginia as we host the primary debate. a lot of at stake. may 1, mark your calendars at 6:30 p.m. eastern time. our colleagues bret baier and martha maccallum will be monitoring. thousands of students marching on the capitol protesting gun violence in schools and calling for changes to our gun laws. a live report on this coming up. . gain botanicals laundry detergent. bring the smell of nature wherever you are. one second. barely enough time for this man to take a bite of turkey. but for cyber criminals it's plenty of time to launch thousands of attacks. luckily security analysts and watson are on his side. spotting threats faster and protecting his data with the most securely encrypted main frame in the world. it's a smart way to ea

that is the guy who is not sitting on the stage who is considered to be the leading candidate, don blankenshiphas had some trouble with the law resulting potentially in republicans losing a seat that they should be able to walk to. susan page? >> it's possible. and joe manchin is a guy who might be able to negotiate. he is in a very trump friendly state. but he has a long history in that state. and like heidi heitkamp, somebody who is well-known to the constituents in the state and someone who has supported trump whenever he has been able to do so, although not invariably. and you have a republican party that is divided and vying to see who can be more like trump. >> right. >> the president also is obviously light heartedly doing that nfl poll. but it points to sort of his whim shifts day to day who he wants to support. remember the vacillations around the alabama senate race when eventually he got to roy moore, his third choice after losing twice, i think, that he points to a political shop in the building that still struggles to keep who he wants to back and keeping the president on message

the presence of massey don blankenship, who served a year in prison in connection with the which plosion bel speak ship was asked to about the explosion. prevent itm going to from happening again. annie, first from pennsylvania, line.at's good morning, go ahead. caller: hi, good morning. your show very much. i was watching the ceremonies of french t trump and the bans and reviewing the i guess the service people there. is this properw, protocol for all president when is they receive somebody from state department and have other presidents done the same thing? comments on o the t.v. host: similar instances have same lawn on the with various leaders over the years. in fact, if you are interested seeing the events, this is going on with president trump, ut if you visit our c-span video library, we've documented many of these similar type of have taken place over the years, events at the hite house, state dinners, other similar events. you can see that at c-span.org website. jerry from line, michigan. hello. caller: good morning. host: morning. caller: yes, i was hoping to comment on the air

attorney general morse morrisey and don blankenship, a controversial candidate, doing reasonably welldeadly accident and blanken ship actually served time in prison. ainsley: wow. and he is doing well? who is the frontrunner. >> most republicans in west virginia think that jenkins is the frontrunner. but they can also see a scenario whereby morrisy wins. everyone i talks to says blanken ship gets the nomination they won't spend nearly as much money in the fall trying to beat manchin. ainsley: blankenship is the only one out of those three that the president didn't invite to his round table last week. when you look to 2016, i know that president trump took 68.5% of the votes in that state and hillary clinton got 26.4. that's a big difference. so, when you look at that, you wonder how did joe manchin win and why hasn't a republican had that seat? >> that's a great question. no state in the country has changed more than west virginia. in 1988, they voted democratic in the presidential election by 12 percentage points. as you just noted, they voted for donald trump by 42 percentage points