West Virginia state Senate candidate Richard Ojeda was brutally beaten during a cookout Sunday — just two days before his primary — Ojeda told NBC News.
The Democrat and military veteran said he suffered eight bone fractures and three lacerations to his face in an attack by Jonathan Stuart Porter, a local Ojeda had known since childhood.
Ojeda's primary opponent, state Sen. Art Kirkendoll, said in a statement that he was praying for Ojeda and wished him a full recovery.
Porter peacefully turned himself in after hiding out in the mountains for six hours, State Trooper Zachary Holden said.
A motive for the assault remained unclear, though Ojeda says it was clearly political.
"I'm challenging the powers that be," he said.