CHARLESTON, W. Va. – Controversial coal baron Don Blankenship has drawn national attention with his U.S. Senate run - but polling and conversations with voters suggest he won't shake his criminal conviction for endangering miners.

The former Massey Energy CEO served a year in prison for mine-safety violations leading to the 2010 Upper Big Branch disaster that killed 29 people.

Blankenship called himself innocent, a political prisoner persecuted by federal officials. But a recent Republican poll shows him running third of the three major candidates.

Levi Harrah of Cross Lanes said he isn't sure who he'll vote for - but he has ruled out one candidate.

"I don't believe I'll be voting for Don Blankenship, I know that. He was convicted, and I mean, as far as I'm concerned he's a criminal," Harrah said. "It don't matter whether he has a million dollars or has two dollars in his pocket, a criminal's a criminal, and at least partly responsible for what happened in the mine."

The GOPAC Election Fund poll showed nearly 40 percent of voters undecided. Blankenship was backed by 12 percent, a figure that is half the percentage of Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, the front-runner in the Senate campaign.

Blankenship has spent some of his immense personal wealth on campaign ads. But a national group of GOP leaders is funding ads attacking Blankenship, arguing he would be a weak candidate in the general election this fall.

Chad Rieve of Hurricane said he's also undecided, and noted the ads haven't swayed him. But he said the opinions of people he knows have given him a negative impression of Blankenship.

"Kinda hearing from the guy, he's done some shady stuff in his past, and I don't want to vote for somebody like that," Rieve observed. "Not necessarily [what I've heard from] the ads on TV, but you know, just from regular, working-class people."

Blankenship has criticized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for being married to a woman from China. McConnell's wife, U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, was born in Taiwan. Blankenship also attacked a recent article in the New York Times about him as "communist propaganda."



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Legislation now in Congress could further complicate how Arizonans cast their ballots.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act would require a person to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote, which is not entirely new to Arizonans. Since 2013, Arizona voters have had to provide documents proving their citizenship to vote in state and local elections.

Sydney Bryant, policy analyst at the Center for American Progress, said it is already illegal for noncitizens to register or cast a ballot in federal elections. The measure would require anyone to present documentation in person like a passport or birth certificate to vote in federal elections. Bryant argued it exacerbates barriers voters already face.

"Many rural voters do not live necessarily near their county election office," Bryant pointed out. "They would have to travel great lengths, for many of them, to provide in-person evidence of their citizenship."

Bryant noted amendments to the bill might still be made but she called the current version "disastrous," affecting not only rural voters but potentially up to 3.5 million Arizonans who do not have passports. Supporters of the bill argued its aim is to increase election integrity, although studies have shown voter fraud is extremely rare.

Another group the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act could affect is married women. Bryant noted nationwide, tens of millions could not present a birth certificate to prove their citizenship if they changed their legal name when they got married. In Arizona alone, it would be the case for more than 1.5 million women.

"Approximately 80% of U.S. women who are married, at some point or another, have taken their spouse's last name and so, it would not match," Bryant emphasized. "Under the current bill, there really isn't a direct path, under the SAVE Act, as to this situation that so many women are in."

As it stands, the legislation does not include a process for people who have changed their name to resolve documentation discrepancies. Bryant added it does not ensure marriage certificates or other name-change documentation can be used as proof. She contended on the national level, the measure would complicate an already well-functioning process.


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In many U.S. cities, President's Day was used to sound the alarm over actions by the Trump administration.

Minnesota protesters braved subzero temperatures Monday to express worry about the loss of democratic norms.

The 50501 Movement is described as a grassroots effort where organizers connect online to schedule peaceful protests in all states.

Monday marked the second nationwide group of rallies since President Donald Trump returned to office.

Woodbury's Rob Gallagher attended the St. Paul event. He said he's convinced democracy is being undermined as Trump's staff aggressively cuts agency budgets and workers in the face of court challenges.

"It affects everybody, the great many," said Gallagher, "and for what? You know, it's incompetently done, it's done without checks and balances on appropriations that have already been made, and without checks on conflicts of interest. And so, it's wrong in every dimension."

Those conflicts of interest involve claims that Trump adviser Elon Musk, leading the purge of spending cuts, is violating ethics rules because his companies hold government contracts.

Other protesters say Congress isn't doing enough to intervene.

Musk and other Trump officials defend their actions, saying these are changes Americans voted for.

The 50501 Movement says it isn't tied to any political party and calls for Trump to be impeached and for Musk to be investigated.

Gallagher said he hopes the feelings they're expressing dovetail into other forms of peaceful protest, in both blue and red states.

"Consumers' purchasing drives the economy," said Gallagher, "and if we could leverage this sort of group activity into a 'no buy day' - or, you know, 'no purchases over a weekend' - or to other kinds of group activity, that would move the needle."

Gallagher, who is retired, said he worked many years in business and was trained to reduce wasteful spending. He's convinced any entity can be made more efficient, but thinks what's happening in Washington, D.C., isn't the way to do it.

Attendance has varied at these protests, depending on the state and weather. Most in the Midwest have seen several hundred people.

Support for this reporting was provided by Carnegie Corporation of New York.




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As the Trump administration ramps up arrests of undocumented immigrants, some in Nevada are choosing to skip work or keep their children home from school.

On Wednesday, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to ban birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants. But as real fear plagues communities in Nevada and across the country, the Silver State's nine-member Latino Caucus has said they won't stay complacent.

Assemblywoman and caucus chair Cecilia González, D-Las Vegas, said Trump's attack on immigrant families is personal for her, which is why she's introducing The Family Unity Support Act.

"This bill is seeking to ensure the protections of children's whose parents may be facing deportation proceedings," she said, "so it ensures that their overall mental, scholarly and legal well-being are taken care of by the state."

The bill's final details are still being worked out.

The White House has said the roundups taking place nationwide are targeting immigrants with criminal records, but some with no record have also been detained. Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, has said any potential raids on schools would be assessed on a "case-by-case basis," and determined by national-security or public-safety threats.

Assemblywoman Selena Torres-Fossett, D-Las Vegas, who is also part of the Nevada Latino Caucus, said they will look at every policy to ensure Nevada children and their families stay safe, but warned that with immigration being such a hot-button issue, more directives and actions from the White House are likely to follow.

"I think we are going to continue to see the federal government and President Trump inciting fear and hate in our schools and our communities," she said, "and we will continue to fight back in every way that we can."

In response to the federal government's actions pertaining to immigrant communities, the ACLU of Nevada has created an online portal for Nevadans to report civil liberties and civil rights violations of immigrants in the Silver State.