Washington (CNN) Don Blankenship, the coal executive recently released from federal prison and now running for US Senate in West Virginia, this week accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of having conflicts of interest in foreign relations because his father-in-law is "a wealthy Chinaperson."

Blankenship, one of three GOP leading candidates in the May 8 primary to take on Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in this year's midterm elections, brought up McConnell's marriage to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in a radio interview Monday.

He told host Dimitri Vassilaros on West Virginia's 106.3 FM that McConnell's marriage raises "the potential for conflict of interest" in Trump's trade war with China.

"I have an issue when the father-in-law is a wealthy Chinaperson and there's a lot of connections to some of the brass, if you will, in China," Blankenship said.

"I read in books that people think he's soft on China," he added.

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