One Nation had planned a $750,000 campaign casting Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, a top GOP target, as weak on immigration. | Andrwe Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images McConnell-aligned group scraps ad campaign hitting Manchin

An outside group aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is abruptly halting a planned ad offensive in the West Virginia Senate race, an early blow for the Republican Party in a critical midterm contest.

One Nation, a prominent conservative group, on Thursday canceled hundreds of thousands of dollars in TV and radio spending in the state. The organization had planned a $750,000 campaign casting Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, a top GOP target, as weak on immigration.


The offensive started July 17 and had been scheduled to run through July 26, according to a person familiar with the media buy.

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As part of its midterm blitz, One Nation had been slated to run ads in five Senate battlegrounds this month: West Virginia, North Dakota, Nevada, Indiana and Arizona. People familiar with the group’s plans said it intended to move forward in the other four states.

Republicans have had high hopes for their West Virginia nominee, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, but several recent polls have shown him trailing Manchin.

“We are always making adjustments to where and when we are deploying our resources,” said One Nation spokesman Chris Pack. “There’s no major shift in strategic direction.”

