I'd say "votes" rather than "money". A fair bit of coal comes from states that can be tipped by coal mining interests, including West Virginia, Illinois, and Pe

I'd say "votes" rather than "money". A fair bit of coal comes from states that can be tipped by coal mining interests, including West Virginia, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Some of these were formerly Democratic strongholds, when coal-mining unions were powerful, but with the demise of unions these areas have become solidly Republican -- so long as Republicans continue to love coal.