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Ex-Marylander Mooney Survives Primary in W.Va. Here’s Why It Matters in Md.

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Ex-Marylander Mooney Survives Primary in W.Va. Here’s Why It Matters in Md.

May 10, 2022 | 10:34 pm ET
By Josh Kurtz
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Ex-Marylander Mooney Survives Primary in W.Va. Here’s Why It Matters in Md.
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U.S. Rep. Alex X. Mooney (R-W.Va.), a former Maryland political figure, with President Trump. Mooney campaign photo.

In a result that resonates across the border in his old state — and may radiate across the country — U.S. Rep. Alex X. Mooney (R-W.Va.), a former Maryland state senator, rode the support of President Trump to defeat another Republican congressman in a rare member vs. member GOP primary contest Tuesday.

With an estimated 99% of the primary vote counted Tuesday night, Mooney had 54% to 36% for U.S. Rep. David McKinley (R), with the rest of the ballots split among lesser-known candidates. The two members of the House of Representatives were thrust into the same district because the Mountaineer State lost population over the last decade — and lost a seat in the latest round of congressional reapportionment as a result.

Mooney, 50, once a central figure in Maryland politics, is heavily favored to win a fifth term this fall and is considered very likely to challenge controversial Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in 2024.

The primary result is also good news for Maryland state Sen. Michael J. Hough (R-Frederick), who in his day job works as Mooney’s chief of staff. Hough is giving up his Senate seat to run for Frederick County executive this year. But with Mooney guaranteed another term in Congress, Hough has a fallback in case he loses his county executive race this fall.

The Republican primary was largely defined by fealty to Trump — or lack thereof. And in West Virginia, at least, that narrative accrued to Mooney’s benefit.

McKinley’s political career in West Virginia dates back to 1980, and he has served in Congress since 2011. But that was not enough to overcome Trump’s support of Mooney.

“He is the dominant force in Republican politics right now,” CNN political analyst John King said of the ex-president Tuesday night.

Mooney was elected to Congress in 2014 after moving across the border from Western Maryland to Charles Town, W.Va. But he hasn’t been entirely able to shake the carpetbagger label. He spent 12 years in the Maryland Senate, representing Frederick and Washington counties before losing in 2010, and served as the state’s GOP chair before sensing an opportunity across the border and decamping for West Virginia.

Trump and Mooney attacked McKinley for supporting the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, even though it brought billions in needed federal funding into the state, and for voting for a measure that would have created a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

“Alex has been strong on Crime, Borders, our great Military, and a champion of our Veterans,” Trump said in a statement endorsing Mooney. “He will always protect our Second Amendment, and of particular importance is the fact that Alex fights for energy and beautiful clean coal — and he will never stop. Congressman Alex Mooney has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”

Mooney predicted that Trump’s endorsement would carry the day.

“I am a proud America First conservative and will do whatever I can to carry on the president’s legacy of fighting for election integrity, defeating socialism, and supporting the Second Amendment in Congress,” Mooney said recently. “West Virginians are proud Trump Republicans.”

Just a week ago, Manchin took the unprecedented step of endorsing McKinley in a 30-second TV spot, defending the congressman over an unfounded charge that he had supported the sweeping Build Back Better legislation that Manchin also opposed.

“For Alex Mooney and his out-of-state supporters to suggest David McKinley supported Build Back Better is an outright lie,” Manchin said in the TV spot, adding, “Alex Mooney has proven he’s all about Alex Mooney. But West Virginians know David McKinley is all about us.”

Manchin and McKinley have been friends and colleagues since 1982, when both were members of the West Virginia House of Delegates.

Some Democrats were hoping that if McKinley had prevailed over Mooney in the Republican primary, Manchin might have become more willing to support social programs and other spending initiatives favored by Capitol Hill liberals. But with Trumpism dominating in the Mountaineer State, those dreams have likely been quashed.

And while the Republican electorate in West Virginia’s 2nd congressional district doesn’t match up directly with the statewide GOP electorate in Maryland, Mooney’s victory has got to bolster Del. Daniel L. Cox (R-Frederick), who is running for governor here as a Trump acolyte. His main rival for the GOP nomination, former Maryland Commerce Secretary Kelly M. Schulz, is a more conventional center-right Republican.

On the other hand, in Nebraska Tuesday night, Charles Herbster, an agribusiness executive who had been endorsed by Trump, lost the Republican primary for governor to University of Nebraska regent Jim Pillen, who had been endorsed by outgoing Gov. Pete Ricketts (R). Herbster had been accused of sexual assault by multiple women.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a reference to Nebraska results.