Rep. Alex Mooney won the Republican primary for West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District after strong endorsements from former President Donald Trump.
Mooney is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and was facing Rep. David McKinley for the new district after the decennial redistricting process.
"I am honored the voters of West Virginia’s new 2nd congressional district have chosen me to carry the conservative banner as we begin the sprint to November. Tonight is a monumental night for West Virginians & I look forward to being their trusted conservative voice in Congress," Mooney tweeted about an hour after the Associated Press projected him to be the winner. I am honored the voters of West Virginia’s new 2nd congressional district have chosen me to carry the conservative banner as we begin the sprint to November. Tonight is a monumental night for West Virginians & I look forward to being their trusted conservative voice in Congress. pic.twitter.com/TorE5mwL6r
— Alex Mooney (@MooneyforWV) May 11, 2022
In his endorsement, Trump wrote that "Representative Alex Mooney has done an outstanding job as Congressman in West Virginia. In fact, he recently opposed the horrendous Biden Administration’s 'Non-Infrastructure' plan, and he opposed the January 6th Committee, also known as the Unselect Committee of partisan hacks and degenerates. Alex has been strong on Crime, Borders, our great Military, and a champion for our Veterans. 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!"
Rep. McKinley had faced ire from Mooney and Trump for his vote to create a panel to investigate the January 6 protest at the Capitol and for his vote in favor of last year's $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.
While stumping for Mooney, Trump said that “he’s running against David McKinley, a RINO (Republican In Name Only) who supported the fake infrastructure bill that wasted hundreds of billions of dollars on the Green New Deal, which is a hoax. McKinley was in there fighting for it, and that’s against the interests of West Virginia.”
Trump also blasted McKinley, saying that he supported the “radical Democrats unselect committee on January 6th and to smear our movement. He supported Pelosi’s phony narrative and he helped the left weaponize law enforcement against conservatives. Remember, Pelosi in charge of Capitol security. She should be responsible for what happened because she turned down thousands of soldiers. She was given the options of having soldiers and she turned it down on January 3, so remember that when you hear about the un-select committee.”
While Mooney had Trump, McKinley gained a cross-party endorsement from West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. He had also been endorsed by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Trump ally.
In a statement congratulating Mooney, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said “West Virginians are in good hands with Congresswomen Carol Miller and Congressman Alex Mooney as we work to take back the House in November. Americans reject Biden’s historic inflation, gas hike, and crisis at our southern border, and will vote for Republicans up-and-down the ballot.”
