Justice says McGraw, not Blankenship, decided election
By Scott Finn, West Virginia Public Broadcasting
In 2004, Republican Brent Benjamin knocked off then-Supreme Court Justice Warren McGraw in the nastiest and most expensive court race in West Virginia history.
Most of the money spent on that race came from outside groups – trial lawyers went after Benjamin, while business groups and Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship attacked McGraw. Blankenship alone spent an estimated $3 million on the race.
Now for the first time, Justice Benjamin is talking at length about that race. He says he won because of McGraw’s mistakes, not Blankenship’s money. Scott Finn reports.