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Ex-Con Coal Mine CEO Launches Campaign for U.S. Senate in West Virginia

Posted on
December 6, 2017
by Becky Cruze
In today’s edition of “you can’t make this up” political news, a coal mine executive who went to jail for the “worst coal-mining disaster in nearly four decades” is now running for the U.S. Senate.

Last week, Don Blankenship, the former CEO of Massey Energy, announced his candidacy for the West Virginia senate seat currently held by Democrat Joe Manchin.

Running as a Republican, Blankenship launched his campaign for the 2018 election with an ad that directly addressed the mining disaster for which he was convicted.

Background on Don Blankenship

In April 2010, an underground explosion at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine in Raleigh County, W. Va killed 29 of the 31 miners on site.

As ThinkProgress explained, “Four investigations…found that the disaster was caused by worn and broken equipment that sparked and ignited accumulations of coal dust and methane gas.”

“Blankenship had ordered Massey Energy to put safety improvements on hold, writing to one executive in 2008 that ‘We’ll worry about ventilation or other issues at an appropriate time,’” continued ThinkProgress.

He was found guilty of one misdemeanor charge for “ignoring federal mine-safety regulations” and served a year in federal prison.

Despite the verdict, Blankenship has maintained his innocence, calling himself an “American political prisoner.”

He blames the explosion on a “directive from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors to cut air flow to the mine in half the day before the explosion,” reported ThinkProgress.

'MSHA Scandal Ad'

Blankenship’s contention that the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is at fault for the Upper Big Branch mining disaster takes center stage in his new campaign ad, which is not-so-subtly titled “MSHA Scandal Ad.”

The 30-second spot opens with a narrator ominously announcing, “Update: Obama’s deadliest cover-up has been uncovered by MSHA’s own documents.”

The cover page of a March 2012 report titled “Internal Review of MSHA’s Actions at the Upper Big Branch Mine…” appears on screen as the narrator continues:

“Documents which say the MSHA Upper Big Branch internal report was fixed. Documents were shredded. Charts were altered. And the MSHA investigators were intimidated.”

The ad concludes with a dramatic proclamation, claiming, “Government corruption is pandemic.”

West Virginia Senate Race Heats Up

In his campaign for the U.S. Senate, Blankenship joins an already-crowded Republican field that includes West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Rep. Evan Jenkins.

According to ThinkProgress, “The winner of the [GOP] primary will likely go on to challenge Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), whose seat is a major target for Republicans looking to gain an advantage in the Senate in 2018 (though Manchin will likely face challengers in the Democratic primary himself). The Cook Political Report has rated the race as a toss-up.”

Manchin has represented West Virginia in the Senate since 2010, and facing him will be a tough challenge for any Republican – but Blankenship has an additional barrier to overcome.

“He moved to Nevada this summer, and according to the conditions of his supervised probation, cannot leave the state without permission from his probation officer or a federal judge,” explained Quartz.

As reporter Christina Wilkie added, “I believe Don Blankenship will be the first Senate candidate in modern times who has mandatory check-ins with his probation officer.”
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