Mountaintop Mining Splits KY Dems
By Reid Wilson
Keep an eye on this one: KY AG Jack Conway (D) and LG Dan Mongiardo (D) will fight over their differing positions on mountaintop mining, and it could prove a major sticking point in their already-bitter primary.
In a column published 11/29 in the Louisvill Courier-Journal, KY political guru Al Cross takes a look at the differences between Mongiardo and Conway.
Mongiardo, from the rural eastern part of the state, has cast himself as the candidate most likely to favor the coal industry -- a major part of the state's economy. Conway, from Louisville, is against mountaintop removal, a controversial method of mining that Mongiardo supports.
We've heard from several KY Dem strategists who say the issue could be a factor in the primary; the coal industry plays an outsized role in KY, even though it accounts for less than 1% of the jobs in the state. But it's an issue that pits Mongiardo's base of rural Dems squarely against Conway's urban Dems.
If mountaintop mining plays a major, or decisive, role in the primary, it could signal which Dem faction is dominant in state politics.
Polls have showed both candidates leading, and national Dems who once favored Conway have modified their language toward Mongiardo. They claim to be happy with either candidate. Still, the eventual winner is unlikely to emerge from the race unscathed; political watchers are hard-pressed to remember a primary that has turned this negative this quickly.
Meanwhile, on the GOP side, ophthamologist Rand Paul (R) and the NRSC are having a bit of a disagreement, the Courier-Journal writes. Paul thinks political director Randy Bumps told him the NRSC would not get involved in the primary, a notion that the group's comms director disputes.
"What Randy told [Paul] was that the NRSC does not anticipate making any endorsements in the race but that we reserve the right to do so," the NRSC's Brian Walsh told the paper.
GOP strategists want to see Sec/State Trey Grayson (R) emerge from the primary, but they've been surprised by Paul's strong fundraising.
Mountaintop Removal will play a issue in the race and the Coal Indusrty will lose because people are getting disgusted on how the coalfield residents are being treated.
There is quiet anger in the coalfields on what is going on to the mountains, water and our children. We are not going to continue to take this. I plan to work to defeat elected officals who do not work for jobs. MTR mines more coal with less people, with more profits for the out of state companies and at the expense of us.
If coal was gonna make Eastern Kentucky wealthy, we would be the wealthiest part of the state.