Rep. Alex X. Mooney, boosted by support from former President Donald Trump, defeated Rep. David B. McKinley on Tuesday in the Republican primary in West Virginia’s redrawn 2nd District.
Mooney ran on the former president’s endorsement and exhaustively attacked McKinley‘s votes for a bipartisan infrastructure package and for creating a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack.
The strategy helped Mooney overcome potential baggage as a former Maryland official facing House ethics investigations. When The Associated Press called the race at 9:12 p.m. Eastern, Mooney had 51.8 percent of the vote to McKinley’s 38 percent in the five-candidate field.
