The Hillary Clinton campaign opened up their first office in Kentucky this week, in preparation for the state’s upcoming Democratic Primary, May 17. But the state’s junior Senator Rand Paul, does not have a warm welcome planned for Clinton or her campaign.
Paul, who is currently defending his Senate seat, is calling for Clinton to apologize to Kentuckians for her anti-coal comments she made at a Democratic town hall in Ohio in March.
Paul’s ad replays the portion of Clinton’s town hall presentation where she said, “We are going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business” – a remark that did not strike well in coal country.
Paul replies to that sentiment, saying, “As I travel across Kentucky I see people who are out of work, people who are hurting, and frankly I blame Hillary Clinton and President Obama for putting them out of business.”
What is left out of Paul’s ad is that Clinton went on to say that these coal jobs – which have been disappearing since the early 1980s – can be replaced with clean energy jobs relatively easily. But for those living in a state that produces the third largest amount of coal in the country, that’s a subtle nuance that can easily be swept under the rug.
Paul ends his video with: “So Hillary, when you get to Kentucky, we’d like to hear an apology.”
But in an effort to patch things up with King Coal, the Clinton campaign has already bought roughly $175,000 of airtime in Kentucky, leading up to the state’s primary May 17.
Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook as we bring you the latest from the Kentucky Primary.
Paul, who is currently defending his Senate seat, is calling for Clinton to apologize to Kentuckians for her anti-coal comments she made at a Democratic town hall in Ohio in March.
Dispatches From The War On Coal

Paul’s ad replays the portion of Clinton’s town hall presentation where she said, “We are going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business” – a remark that did not strike well in coal country.
Paul replies to that sentiment, saying, “As I travel across Kentucky I see people who are out of work, people who are hurting, and frankly I blame Hillary Clinton and President Obama for putting them out of business.”
What is left out of Paul’s ad is that Clinton went on to say that these coal jobs – which have been disappearing since the early 1980s – can be replaced with clean energy jobs relatively easily. But for those living in a state that produces the third largest amount of coal in the country, that’s a subtle nuance that can easily be swept under the rug.
Paul ends his video with: “So Hillary, when you get to Kentucky, we’d like to hear an apology.”
Clinton Campaign Gets Out Commercials in Coal Country
The Clinton campaign chose not to run any cable advertising in Indiana or West Virginia – two states she lost to Bernie Sanders. And while Clinton’s loss in Indiana was relatively narrow, many are attributing her 16% loss in West Virginia to her unfortunate remarks about the coal industry.But in an effort to patch things up with King Coal, the Clinton campaign has already bought roughly $175,000 of airtime in Kentucky, leading up to the state’s primary May 17.
Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook as we bring you the latest from the Kentucky Primary.