Blankenship Isn’t Giving Up on Senate Run

Despite losing the Republican primary in a distant third-place, ex-coal baron Don Blankenship announced Monday that he will continue his bid for U.S. Senate as a third-party candidate. Blankenship will run as a member of the Constitution Party, which nominated him by a unanimous vote. West Virginia secretary of state spokesman Steve Adams said Blankenship has officially switched his party affiliation to the Constitution Party, but the state’s “sore loser” or “sour grapes” law prohibits candidates affiliated with a major party who lose in a primary from changing their registration to a minor party to take advantage of later filing deadlines. The Gazette-Mail reports Blankenship won’t be allowed to run in a general election.