Meet the down-ballot Democrats caught up in Clinton’s Coal Country catastrophe

Tuesday’s crushing loss in West Virginia – where former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton garnered just 38 percent of the vote after winning the state with 67 percent in 2008 – capped off days of bad news for the likely Democratic nominee.

Her pledge to “put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business” came back to haunt her in a big way, her own surrogates were quoted grousing about her standing in manufacturing states, and a new Quinnipiac poll showed her favorability rating cratering in the key swing states of Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

{mosads}“So what?” one might say, pointing out that Clinton is all but mathematically certain to win the nomination anyway. But, as Reuters reported Wednesday, Clinton’s West Virginia loss is indicative of a regional problem: “For Clinton, 68, the West Virginia result underscored how she still needs to court working-class voters in the Rust Belt, including key states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania. West Virginia has one of the highest unemployment rates in country.”

And that region – coal country, Appalachia, the Rust Belt, whatever term the pundits are using on any given day – is home to several of the most hotly contested U.S. Senate races. Lost in all the noise right now is the toxic effect Clinton’s terrible numbers and deep unpopularity could have on down-ballot Democrats in must-win races.

Three Democratic Senate Candidates Who Have A Clinton Problem:

Ted Strickland (OH) –An early endorser of Clinton in both 2008 and 2016, former Ohio governor Ted Strickland is perhaps most closely tied to her of any down-ballot candidate. Any attempt to distance himself from her will run smack into the indisputable facts of his record, which includes killing thousands of manufacturing jobs as Ohio’s governor, working for a liberal anti-coal think tank, and moving sharply to the left on energy over the past decade under pressure from his Party.

Katie McGinty (PA) – Former federal and state environmental regulator Katie McGinty, ever the revolving door opportunist, may attempt to play up her energy industry ties in a desperate appeal to Pennsylvania workers. But by throwing her full-throated support behind Clinton at the earliest opportunity, and racing to the left on energy issues to outflank her primary opponents, she’s ensured that Pennsylvanians will learn all about her leftist, out-of-touch record as an Al Gore acolyte, and Clinton’s anti-coal image will help drag her down.

Tammy Duckworth (IL) – Democratic senate nominee Rep. Tammy Duckworth is an early endorser of Clinton with deep ties to the liberal Chicago establishment, including embattled Mayor Rahm Emanuel and convicted felon Rod Blagojevich. Yes, that same establishment that Illinois voters lashed out against in the final weeks before their March primary, causing Illinois native Clinton to barely squeak out what should have been a cakewalk. When Rep. Duckworth – who has faced criticism for absences from the campaign trail – finally gets around to courting voters outside of her suburban Chicago district, she’ll come face to face with Downstate voters who supported Bernie Sanders in droves. They’ll likely have some tough questions about Clinton’s anti-coal agenda and the thousands of downstate Illinois jobs at risk.

These and other down-ballot Democrats have struggled with the same challenges as Clinton so far this election cycle, including as a slew of liberal primary challenges that forced them to shift leftward, as Clinton has done under pressure from Bernie Sanders. The result? Not only can they not rely on any semblance of Clinton coattails; they actually risk being dragged down by their deeply flawed frontrunner.

Amelia Chassé is press secretary for the America Rising political action committee