Dems struggle to reclaim coal country from Trump, GOP

To listen to Sen. Joe Manchin and other Democrats tell it this week, coal is still king on Capitol Hill, for both Democrats and Republicans.

But retaking miners' issues back from President-elect Trump and the Republicans won't be easy for Manchin and other red-state Democrats up for re-election in 2018, especially after their party has repeatedly prioritized action on climate change, a point Trump drove home relentlessly during the campaign.

"I think Mr. Trump carried West Virginia pretty handily and also won Ohio," Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters Friday. "That's shaped the way people look at these things."

Manchin and several other Democrats from coal-mining states across Appalachia threatened to shut down the government temporarily this weekend over the difference between a four-month and year-long extension of health insurance for retired coal workers and their widows. The effort ultimately fizzled when it appeared as if several Democrats would abandon the quest and vote with Republicans to prevent a government shutdown.

The West Virginia Democrat teamed up with Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and several other Democrats up for re-election in 2018, to scold Republicans for wanting to ditch town to enjoy the holidays while leaving miners and their widows with only a four-month healthcare patch. When the effort appeared to be breaking apart late Friday, Manchin, Brown and several others vowed to redouble the fight in the new year.