COAL OPERATORS SHOULD PREPARE TO DO BUSINESS WITH THE DEMOCRATS

摘要

Voters signaled that they wanted change in Washington during the November mid-term elections and they got what they wanted. By a small margin, the Democrats took control of the two houses of Congress. The election outcome could probably be considered an adjustment rather than a sharp shift to the left. Some key coal mining states saw significant change especially in the Senate races. Of the top 10 coal-producing states, Republicans recorded Senate wins in Wyoming, Texas, and Indiana. The Democrats won the Senates race in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Montana, and Virginia. Senator-elect Bob Casey (D) defeated Rick Santorum (R) in Pennsylvania. Santorum was one of the Senators elected during the Republican revolution in 1994. The elections in Virginia and Montana were very close and actually held up official outcome. The final result was decided when Democrat James Webb was declared the winner in Virginia against Republican incumbent George Allen. He and fellow Republican Conrad Burns from Montana both conceded defeat and relinquished the Republican hold on the Senate to the Democrats. Who knows? A last minute labor rally in the coalfields of Virginia may have swayed voters in favor of Webb, who won by a 0.3 percent margin. In the House of Representatives race, Republicans lost seats in Colorado (1), Indiana (3), Kentucky (1), and Pennsylvania (4).