Primary Day: Blankenship Out in WV; Consumer Watchdog Wins in Ohio; Pence's Brother Wins in Indiana
Voters in West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and North Carolina headed to the polls Tuesday to decide a number of key primaries. In West Virginia, the state's Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey won a closely watched U.S. Senate primary, defeating U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins and former coal baron Don Blankenship. Blankenship had served a year in prison after 29 miners died in the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine disaster. He faced intense criticism after releasing an ad attacking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his "China family." Patrick Morrisey will now face the conservative Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in November. In Ohio, Richard Cordray defeated former Congressmember Dennis Kucinich in the state's Democratic primary for governor. Cordray served as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He will now face Mike DeWine in November to determine who will replace outgoing Ohio Governor John Kasich. In Indiana, Vice President Mike Pence's brother Greg Pence won the Republican primary for a congressional seat in eastern Indiana. Female candidates were also big winners on Tuesday. According to Politico, there were 20 open Democratic House primaries with women on the ballot Tuesday, and voters selected a female nominee in 17 of them. In Ohio, Rachel Crooks, one of at least 19 women who have accused President Trump of sexual harassment and assault, won an uncontested primary for a seat in the state's House of Representatives. For more, we speak with Tim Murphy, a senior reporter at Mother Jones, and Kevin Robillard, senior political reporter for HuffPost.