Blankenship Hurt GOP, Chairman Says

by Scott Finn, excerpted from Charleston Gazette, Nov. 9, 2006

Call it the Blankenship backlash… Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship reportedly spent close to $3 million in a bid to help Republicans take over the House.

Instead, Democrats gained four seats, increasing their majority to 72 of 100 seats.

In race after race where Blankenship spent money, the Republican he supported lost and the Democrat won.

Blankenship actually hurt Republicans Tuesday, said state Republican Party Chairman Doug McKinney.

…Last year, the Legislature passed election reforms that required Blankenship to disclose his spending right away and put his name on every advertisement. That helped educate voters about who was behind the campaign, said Larry LaCorte, a Democratic campaign consultant for Rainmaker Media.

"I think the 527 reform helped the Democratic Party tremendously," he said. "The more people knew about Blankenship, the less they liked him, the less they would vote for his candidates, according to our polls."