Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship wants to make the jump from prison to the Senate.
Blankenship was convicted of conspiring to violate mine safety and served a year in prison for his role in failing to prevent an accident at Massey’s Upper Big Branch Mine that killed 29 people in 2010. He was released from prison last May — and has now decided to run against a longtime foe, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), according to WHCS TV.
The former mine executive has remained unrepentant for his role in the accident, instead blaming federal regulators, while attacking Manchin for how he handled the explosion when he was governor.
Blankenship has been aggressively critical of Manchin for years, and last month put out a TV ad accusing Manchin of having “blood on his hands” — a line Manchin used about Blankenship during the trial.
Blankenship, an extremely wealthy self-funder, has long been a major player in West Virginia GOP politics. But given his conviction, he’s far from the favorite to face Manchin — Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-WV) and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrissey (R) are already in the race.
I was just talking to my aunt about Red State politics. Working people in West Virginia should shun Blankenship, but they won’t. Their willingness to support some rich guy who has a history of hurting working men and women for a profit is pathetic and a big part of why red states are generally poor and provide lousy services.
So, with Former Sheriff Arpaio, and Blankenship, and Micheal Grimm in New York all seeking elected offices we can start to call the GOP “The Party with the Strongest Convictions”?
(I thought felony convictions rendered one ineligible to vote, and therefore ineligible to run for office.)
If the punishment fit the crime, he would have been sentenced to a coal mine, not a prison.
I think that only applies if you are a democrat
They don’t even pretend to hide their criminality, do they?
I have no hope for WV, KY, TN, AL, MS, ID, IN. They are inhabited by folks who just aren’t that bright but they have “common sense” and Jeebus.