Doubtful. Republicans seem to have convinced eastern Kentucky that coal isn't going away, when all they're doing is prolonging its demise.
I can see Democrats closing the margin a bit with the right candidate, but outright winning it in a presidential election could be decades away.
Did my old man eyes deceive me, or did your avatar shift from Green to Red? Maybe I'm going color blind these days, and slightly OT, but anyways....
Sure, I totally agree with Dems closing the margins with the right candidate at a Pres level, and could well see a Dem Gov pickup in KY in the very near future.
That being said, Coal is more of symbolic item these days within the traditional heartlands of Coal Country in Appalachia....
Much of domestic Coal Production has been shifted to Coal Mines out West in Montana, Wyoming, etc....
The problem with the Democratic brand in traditional Coal Country in SE-KY, Southern WV, Western VA, and even deep into PA runs much deeper.
There has been a widespread perception in Appalachian Coal Country that goes back many decades that the National Democratic Party, including various Presidents and Presidential Candidates don't give an eff about the Coal Miner, and Coal Mining communities....
Democratic Presidents over decades have supported the deployment of National Guard troops against striking Coal Miners (Harry Truman), invoked the infamous Taft-Hartley clause (Jimmy Carter), and stood idly by while the bosses hammered the final nail into the coffin (Bill Clinton), of what was a proud and independent Union that even split with the CIO under FDR to protect the interest of Coal Miners, regardless of administration in power.
https://www.wyzant.com/resources/answers/11285/how_did_president_truman_deal_with_strikers_in_the_steel_and_mining_indusrieshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bituminous_coal_strike_of_1977%E2%80%9378https://www.csmonitor.com/1993/0907/07021.htmlhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=46213There are multiple generations of Coal Miners, including 3rd Generation Coal Miners that I worked with during the strike of '93, that have no faith that the Democratic Party is still the party of workers rights, and although the actual number of jobs associated with Coal in Appalachia is a pale shadow of it's former glory, it is still a symbolic entity when you look at the sheer number of retired Coal Miners, Families, dependents, etc, and although I've seen various Republican Pres candidates over the past few cycles (McCain/Romney/Trump) trot out Coal Miners for photo ops, I haven't seen a Democratic Candidate address these issues directly (Other than Bernie Sanders in the '16 Dem Primaries as well as a Town Hall after).
So now the vast majority of US Coal is produced in Open-Pit Mines in the West, various administrations of both political parties did nothing to stop that trend, and additionally, starting with Bush Sr, then Bill Clinton, later George W., successive Presidents did nothing to stop the importation of Coal to the US from elsewhere in the World....
Now, although one can surely make an argument that Coal as an energy source is decreasing rapidly within the United States, there are still a number of downstream sectors, including Steel, where US manufactured Coal is still the primary precursor raw material, even without talking about domestic energy production and role of Coal-Fired Power Plants....
Various Democratic Presidential Candidates from Gore through HRC have done an extremely poor job of talking about changes within the industry, and how although Coal is declining overall as an energy source it is still and will continue to be relevant for several decades to come.
We are not even talking about the rhetorical and condescending manner in which Democrats have frequently talked about Coal, let alone detailed plans to fund an economic recovery program in traditional Coal Country of Appalachia.
As someone who grew up in a Natural Resource dependent State, I personally find it insulting the way in which Democrat and Republican Presidential nominees alike, have treated Coal Mining communities in Appalachia....
