Trump-backed lawmaker Alex Mooney ousts GOP colleague David McKinley in West Virginia

In a bitter preliminary showdown between two GOP congressmen from West Virginia, voters in this wild state of MAGA stuck to their form: They voted for who Donald Trump endorsed.

On Tuesday night, Rep. Alex Mooney, a Trump-backed Republican, beat Rep. David McKinley, leading by a comfortable margin as The Associated Press called the 9-inch primaries a little EDT overnight.

The Republican incumbent showdown is the result of a decade-long regional redistricting process, in which West Virginia lost its congressional seat due to a shrinking population. Mooney and McKinley are included in the same incorporated county in the northern part of the state.

While both lawmakers are staunch Republicans, Trumpworld campaigned to remove McKinley because he was guilty of heresy by voting in favor of a bipartisan infrastructure bill — despite the investments. on the crumbling streets of the Mountain State – backed by President Joe Biden.

Additionally, McKinley was one of 35 House Republicans who voted for an independent committee to investigate the Jan. 6 uprising.

Mooney, a former state lawmaker from neighboring Maryland, has consistently touted Trump’s support and appeared with him at a rally in southwestern Pennsylvania days before the primary.

In response, McKinley attacked Mooney as a self-serving carpet salesman, but he also relied on powerful — and unexpected — allies to try to gain Trump’s approval.

The veteran lawmaker has the support of Gov. Jim Justice, the billionaire coal Democrat who leads the state, as well as Sen. Joe Manchin, the centrist Democrat, who has cut his campaign ads. for McKinley.

In the end, the pull of Trump — who won West Virginia in 2020 with nearly 69% of the vote — was too strong.

Mooney will now face an easy road to re-election in November in this audacious red zone, and Trump will avoid an embarrassing defeat in friendly territory and once again demonstrate his grip. theirs at the party.