MacCallum Challenges WV Candidates on 'Jersey Values,' 'Carpetbagger' Barbs

'My Father-In-Law Is An American': McConnell Dismisses 'Wealthy China-Person' Jab from WV GOP Candidate

Republican West Virginia U.S. Senate hopeful Don Blankenship brought a pair of "Ditch Mitch" ballcaps to the Fox News debate in Morgantown Tuesday.

Bret Baier said that, in accordance with debate rules, no "props" would be allowed on stage, but Baier did show them to the audience.

Blankenship, a former CEO of Massey Energy, said he stands by his fiery criticisms of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from neighboring Kentucky.

"He won't be the majority leader" if I'm elected, Blankenship said. "McConnell has to go [in order] to drain the swamp."

.@BretBaier asks the candidates if they would support Mitch McConnell for Republican leader in the U.S. Senate. pic.twitter.com/AVfFvx1gWc — Fox News (@FoxNews) May 1, 2018

Blankenship said that in the three decades McConnell has been in the Senate, the national debt has grown by $20 trillion.

He also stood by his previous allegation that McConnell and his family have a "conflict of interest" with ongoing trade negotiations with China.

McConnell is married to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, whose father is a Chinese native and a shipping magnate who now lives in New York.

"His family is very powerful in China and very powerful in the U.S.," Blankenship said.

He said he does not accept the press' criticism that he "slandered" McConnell by calling father-in-law James Si-Cheng Chao a "wealthy China person."

Maxine Waters Reacts to Kanye's Praise of Trump: He 'Sometimes Talks Out of Turn'

'How Can He Live With Himself?': FL Shooting Victim's Father Suing Broward Deputy for 'Wrongful Death'