More on the McKinley/Mooney primary
Is Mooney depending only upon his TV ads and endorsements? It certainly looks that way
Like the recent get-together in Wheeling, Mooney will not be present at a similar event in Shepherdstown
Join us April 25th at 7 pm in the Byrd Center Auditorium for our latest event, A Town Hall Meeting with Congressman David McKinley. Please note: We did attempt to reach out to Mr. Mooney yet his campaign schedule did not allow for another event.
— Stubblefield Institute (@StubblefieldIns) April 21, 2022
Register: https://t.co/0W0hTjrKgx pic.twitter.com/j1fWqltSZX
I was surprised when Mooney didn’t show-up in Wheeling last month. It certainly would have been an opportunity to possibly pick-up some undecideds or wavering McKinley voters. And unlike a long trip to Wheeling, this one is in his backyard. I’ve not read any commentary about how Mooney appears in person – perhaps, it’s a liability for him.
McKinley is also finding photo-ops
FAIRMONT — Although he currently serves in the U.S. Congress, Rep. David McKinley once owned his own small business. https://t.co/4OAts7rsgm
— Times West Virginian (@TimesWV) April 22, 2022
From the article:
McKinley said his mission for the visit was to help promote the business and visit the facilities.
(I would think another “mission” was to get some good coverage and a photo-op to boost his re-election chances. A gunmaker? Nice choice.)
Endorsements
McKinley got one on Wednesday. (See previous post.) As reported by E & E News, here is something close to an endorsement from organized labor. Josh Sword is the West Virginia AFL-CIO president who appreciates McKinley's efforts on infrastructure. Sword also echoes a point I made earlier about Mooney not being out there:
“David McKinley is someone that will sit down at the table with us and work with us to help determine what that looks like,” he said. “Conversely, his opponent, Alex Mooney — nowhere to be found. He is a ghost.”
Similarly:
“I wouldn’t recognize Mooney if he walked through that door,” said Buddy Malone, business manager for the Parkersburg-Marietta Building and Construction Trades Council.
Here’s one for Mooney:
Eagle Forum PAC Endorses Alex Mooney for Congress to Represent WV-2 #WestVirginia #AlexMooney https://t.co/EQy9ncHxAI
— Eagle Forum (@EagleForum) April 22, 2022
Who is the Eagle Forum? From Wikipedia:
Eagle Forum is a conservative interest group in the United States founded by Phyllis Schlafly in 1972 and is the parent organization that also includes the Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund and the Eagle Forum PAC. The Eagle Forum has been primarily focused on social issues; it describes itself as pro-family and reports membership of 80,000. Critics have described it as socially conservative and anti-feminist.
Ethics?
Finally, from the Charleston Gazette-Mail:
The Office of Congressional Ethics has released data indicating that more than a fifth of all matters it referred to the House Ethics Committee last year were regarding U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, https://t.co/RSBTPMxTbW. https://t.co/izQbL0er7H
— Charleston Gazette-Mail (@wvgazettemail) April 21, 2022
Just a hunch, but at this point, I don't think Mooney has lost many supporters because of his alleged ethical violations.