Maverick Democrat on shaky ground in coal country over climate stance

""Democrats hate guns, hate babies, and hate coal.""

This is a Negative Sentiment.

"Green energy stuff -- bad."

This is a Negative Sentiment.

""Here in West Virginia we love guns, we love babies and we love coal," said Thomas."

This is a Positive Sentiment.

"While there are no provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that would directly harm to coal industry, the legislation explicitly supports clean energy alternatives."

This is a Negative Sentiment.

"While there are no provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that would directly harm to coal industry, the legislation explicitly supports clean energy alternatives."

This is a Negative Sentiment.

""People are worried the government is attacking the coal industry," said Greg Thomas, a Republican political consultant who worked on Trump's campaign in the state in 2020."

This is a Negative Sentiment.

""It's framed as -- well, if you believe the climate is changing, and we have to have green energy, then it's bad for coal, it's bad for natural gas, all the jobs associated with that.""

This is a Negative Sentiment.

"For Democrats, winning involves persuading the people of West Virginia, who voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump in 2020, that Biden's big spending climate bill can deliver jobs, rather than accelerate the closure of coal mines and pause plans for gas pipelines."

This is a Positive Sentiment.

""So, the IRA, Biden -- bad."

This is a negative sentiment.

""But because it was passed under Biden -- they don't like it.""

This is a negative sentiment.

"The state's mercurial senator, who Biden's top clean energy aide had accused of "single-handedly wrecking the planet", went from persistently opposing environmental protection measures to enabling the biggest green spending package in American history almost overnight."

This is a negative sentiment.

""If the IRA was passed under Trump, the people of West Virginia would think it was the best," said Skaff."

This is a positive sentiment.

""Faced with waning popularity and attacks from conservative Republicans, Manchin has increasingly sought to distance himself from the climate and green energy portions of IRA, accusing the Biden administration of "manipulating the law to push their radical climate agenda"."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Last month, he appeared on Fox News and threatened to vote to repeal the bill, accusing Biden of breaking a promise to him that the legislation was about "energy security"."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Polling released last month found that two in three voters in West Virginia approve of Justice's performance, making him one of the most popular governors in the country."

This is a positive sentiment.

""People are worried the government is attacking the coal industry," said Greg Thomas, a Republican political consultant who worked on Trump's campaign in the state in 2020."

This is a negative sentiment.

"In a pub down the road from Democratic Senator Joe Manchin's office in the hilly town of Fairmont, a cluster of drinkers argue over what Joe Biden's multibillion-dollar climate legislation means for their home of West Virginia, America's most coal-dependent state."

This is a negative sentiment.

"Justice, who is rarely seen in public without his pet bulldog, Babydog, has called Manchin's support of Biden's climate legislation "a real, real screw-up"."

This is a negative sentiment.

"In a Senate hinging on razor-thin margins, Biden can ill-afford to lose a precious seat in 2024."

This is a negative sentiment.

""He's a redneck hillbilly, and that makes it easy for everyone to like him," he said of Justice."

This is a positive sentiment.

"In Charleston, the state's capital, 83-year-old Jerry Lewis, said he liked both Manchin and Justice.nn"

This is a negative sentiment.

"In Charleston, the state's capital, 83-year-old Jerry Lewis, said he liked both Manchin and Justice.nn"

This is a negative sentiment.

"Meanwhile, Justice has boasted of his part in several projects that have landed in the state since Biden signed off on the subsidy package, including the arrival of a Form Energy battery plant in the historic steel town of Weirton, a $22mn battery manufacturing plant by Next Energy and a $500mn renewables-powered titanium melting plant by Precision Castparts Corp."Republicans like Jim Justice like to be critical of the Inflation Reduction Act but he's the first to pose for a picture in front of a ribbon-cutting or groundbreaking on one of these new job sites created," said Mike Pushkin, the chair of the Democratic party in West Virginia."

This is a positive sentiment.

"Meanwhile, Justice has boasted of his part in several projects that have landed in the state since Biden signed off on the subsidy package, including the arrival of a Form Energy battery plant in the historic steel town of Weirton, a $22mn battery manufacturing plant by Next Energy and a $500mn renewables-powered titanium melting plant by Precision Castparts Corp."Republicans like Jim Justice like to be critical of the Inflation Reduction Act but he's the first to pose for a picture in front of a ribbon-cutting or groundbreaking on one of these new job sites created," said Mike Pushkin, the chair of the Democratic party in West Virginia."

This is a positive sentiment.

"He faces a challenge from West Virginia's hugely popular, billionaire coal-magnate Republican governor, Jim Justice, who has announced a Senate run."

This is a negative sentiment.

"For Democrats, wiing involves persuading the people of West Virginia, who voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump in 2020, that Biden's big spending climate bill can deliver jobs, rather than accelerate the closure of coal mines and pause plans for gas pipelines."

This is a positive sentiment.

"For Democrats, wiing involves persuading the people of West Virginia, who voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump in 2020, that Biden's big spending climate bill can deliver jobs, rather than accelerate the closure of coal mines and pause plans for gas pipelines."

This is a positive sentiment.