West Virginia attorney general to announce Senate challenge to Manchin

West Virginia Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced his bid for the Senate on Monday, setting up a primary clash between two high-profile Republicans looking to unseat Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin. 

Morrisey had scheduled an announcement for Monday afternoon in Harpers Ferry. But after National Review broke the news, his campaign quickly released his announcement video online. 

“We need someone who is going to take on Washington corruption and advance conservative values. There’s so much we can do if we have a conservative with principles going to Washington and someone who is committed to taking on the mess,” Morrisey said in the video.

{mosads}“As your Senator, I’ll stand with President Trump, and we will beat the Washington elites.”

Morrisey had long been expected to make a bid for the Senate seat, and his decision sets up a Republican primary fight with Rep. Evan Jenkins.

The two have already sparred since Jenkins entered the race this spring.

During radio spots on the same day last month, Morrisey warned voters that Jenkins’s history as a former Democrat could make him a weak competitor if he wins the GOP nomination.

Later that morning, Jenkins blasted Morrisey on another radio spot, where he framed a potential Senate bid by the attorney general as abandoning his promise to West Virginia voters who voted for him to serve a full term in the attorney general’s office. 

Morrisey wasted no time in attacking Jenkins in that announcement video, though he did not mention his rival’s name.

“Unlike my opponents, I’ve never supported Hillary or Obama, or Obamacare, or higher taxes, or cap-and-trade. You’ll never have to worry about me wavering in my conservative values,” he said. 

The winner of the primary will take on Manchin, who is considered one of the more vulnerable Democratic senators because President Trump won his state by a large margin.  

While Trump won the state by 42 points in November, Manchin is one of the few Democrats who has had recent success in the red state. His allies hope his willingness to compromise with Republicans will keep him afloat in 2018. 

In his video, Morrisey signaled he’ll use lawsuits he filed as attorney general against the Obama administration over immigration reform and Environmental Protection Agency policies as a centerpiece to his campaign.

He also showed that he intends to run as a Trump Republican. The president won West Virginia by 42 points.  

“Washington is an absolute mess. We need someone to go there who is going to help this President drain the swamp,” Morrisey said.