Montcoal mine disaster a factor in W.Va. races: ; Candidates are being targeted for their stances on coal-related issues, spending and affiliations

Less than a month after an underground explosion killed 29 WestVirginia coal miners, the disaster is fodder in the state's ongoingelection races.

A television ad from several labor unions invokes the Upper BigBranch explosion to attack state Sen. Erik Wells. It alleges theKanawha County Democrat opposed bolstering protections forwhistleblowing miners.

The political spending of Massey Energy Chief Executive DonBlankenship has also come under renewed scrutiny since the April 5mine blast. Massey runs Upper Big Branch through a subsidiary, andthe mine's history of safety violations have stoked criticism ofBlankenship and his Richmond, Va.-based company.

The anti-Wells spot cites a 2008 vote by the Senate JudiciaryCommittee that sank a bill on the topic. Its sponsors - the UnitedMine Workers, American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia, and thestate's Education Association and AFL-CIO - have also funded amailer targeting Wells over his committee vote against the bill.

Wells and his supporters have denounced the attacks. His campaignhas released a rebuttal TV spot that calls the wielding of Upper BigBranch "shameful," while citing minutes from the Judiciary Committeemeeting.

The Associated Press reported then that committee members debatedwhether the bill would improve the state's existing whistleblowerprovisions, which Wells also refers to in responding to the attack.A divided committee ultimately rejected the bill.

Marybeth Beller, a political science professor at MarshallUniversity, calls the anti-Wells ad a cheap shot. She said it masksthe real reason the labor groups oppose the freshman senator:education.

Wells predicted to legislative colleagues months before thedisaster that teachers' unions would target him over his support forcharter schools. They have indeed, endorsing former longtime SouthCharleston mayor and Republican-turned-Democrat Richie Robb tochallenge Wells in the May 11 primary.

"They're stretching for other things now that are secondary tothe reasons they have for getting rid of him," Beller said. "To usea tragedy for political gain takes away from the healthy discussionof the real questions."

Those questions, Beller said, include the role of governmentregulation in improving or promoting mine safety.

AFL-CIO President Kenny Perdue said his group is standing by theTV ad, which he said will continue to air and may be joined by a newspot in that race.

"Coal has been a target, a front-page issue for more than a yearnow," Perdue said. "I don't think this is out of line from whatwe've been talking about. It's about coal. It's about coal safety."

As for Blankenship, his prior contribution to state Sen. EvanJenkins is included in a TV ad leveled against the Cabell CountyDemocrat by a primary challenger, former Circuit Judge JohnCummings. He's also become an issue in the primary contest in hisnative Mingo County pitting Senate Majority Leader Truman Chafinagainst county Commissioner Greg "Hootie" Smith.

The same can be said for the GOP congressional bid of formerDemocrat Elliott "Spike" Maynard. His longtime friendship withBlankenship likely contributed to his 2008 primary defeat whilerunning for re-election to the state Supreme Court. Photos hadsurfaced showing the two were socializing together in Monaco whilecases involving Massey were at or headed to Maynard's court. Maynardis seeking to run against U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, and the 3rdDistrict Democrat referred to the Monaco scandal earlier in thecampaign.

Blankenship had become a political lightning rod before Upper BigBranch. His spending of at $3 million in the 2004 state SupremeCourt race made him the boogeyman in a U.S. Supreme Court decisionlast year. Republican analysts concluded his named proved toxic tothe GOP candidates he sought to support during his failed,multimillion-dollar attempt to sweep Democrats from the House ofDelegates in 2006.

Beller considers Blankenship's political activities fair game.

"That's not the same as using a tragedy for political gain, atleast not in my book," she said. "Don Blankenship has a publicrecord of using his money to influence campaigns, way before thisdisaster happened."

But how these issues may play May 11 remains unclear, saidConcord University political science professor James White. He citedresearch showing that primary elections suffer from low turnout andtend to attract the more politically involved voters who havealready made up their minds about candidates.

"It won't have as big an effect as people might assume," Whitesaid of Upper Big Branch as a political issue. "To the extent itwill, it's unpredictable."