Disgraced coal CEO lost races as GOP and third party candidate. He’s trying again as a Democrat

Published April 23, 2024 10:11 PM

By JOHN RABY and LEAH WILLINGHAM
Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Former West Virginia coal executive Don Blankenship is making another attempt to win a U.S. Senate seat, this time as a Democrat. Blankenship finished third out of six candidates in the 2018 Republican primary for Democrat Joe Manchin’s Senate seat. Manchin decided last year not to seek reelection, opening the door for Blankenship to enter the 2024 race. Blankenship will face Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott and Marine Corps veteran Zach Shrewsbury on May 14. Blankenship served a year in federal prison after being found guilty of conspiring to violate safety standards at West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch mine before a 2010 explosion that killed 29 men.

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