In Pennsylvania coal country, follow the climate money
PROSPERITY, Pennsylvania — In Pennsylvania’s 46th Senate District, which takes in all of Washington and Greene counties and a sliver of southern Beaver County, a lot of the prosperity comes from underground. Consol’s Bailey Mine in Aleppo employs 699 miners in three shifts a day, six days a week, according to federal mine-safety records.
TL;DR
- Jodi Borello, a former community organizer for the Center for Coalfield Justice, is running as an independent for Pennsylvania's 46th Senate District.
- Borello's campaign highlights her past as a Trump voter and her opposition to corporate influence, positioning her as an outsider.
- Her former employer, the Center for Coalfield Justice, and its political arm, Coalfield Justice Action, have spent money on digital ads against the incumbent Republican senator.
- Questions exist about the funding sources for Coalfield Justice Action, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that does not disclose its donors.
- The race is taking place in a district heavily reliant on the coal and natural gas industries.
- Borello's platform prioritizes issues like a moratorium on data centers and a higher minimum wage, with fracking not explicitly listed as a concern.
- A poll suggests the 'Trump voter' label significantly boosts Borello's support among likely voters.