The PG's Erich Schwartzel had a nice story Sunday on the coal industry's aggressive attempts this year to defeat Barack Obama and elect Mitt Romney president. The story has context on the challenges coal faces from cheaper natural gas and has a telling quote from a mine owner who hosted Romney in Beallsville, Ohio, on Aug. 14:

Increased competition from cheap natural gas and Environmental Protection Agency decisions to shutter dozens of coal-fired power plants have led to unprecedented drops in coal demand.

Last month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that domestic coal- and natural gas-powered generation were equal for the first time since the agency began calculating the information.

"What is depressing the coal industry is probably more due to the gas than what Obama has done," conceded Robert E. Murray, the president and chief executive officer of bituminous coal mine firm Murray Energy in Pepper Pike, Ohio.

Mr. Murray said natural gas started to compete as a power plant supplier when gas prices hit $3.50 per Mcf. Gas has been below that price since October 2011.

It turns out that Murray forced his (non-union) employees to attend the Romney event. The workers complained to a WWVA-AM's David Blomquist (a well-known conservative talk radio host in Wheeling; the station's HQ is adjacent to the historic Capitol Music Hall) about the political pressures they face at the mine, and the fact that the Romney event forced them to miss a day's pay.

The Plain-Dealer broke the story and the LA Times has more on it today:

Employees who contacted Blomquist and others in the industry contend that the August event is the latest example of the lengths Murray is willing to go to back his political priorities. In the days just after the rally, about seven or eight mine workers, supposedly independent of one another, emailed and called Blomquist to tell him about the circumstances surrounding the rally. The radio host, known as Bloomdaddy, said once he began talking about the issue on the air, he was contacted by other current and former Murray employees, bringing the number of those sharing the same concerns to 15 to 20 people.

The wife of an hourly employee at the Century mine said in an interview with the Washington Bureau the event was mandatory, and that workers were told to arrive at 8 a.m. to a local school, where they registered to attend the rally and then waited much of the day to be bused to the mine. The schedule ate into her husband's free time, which bothered him, she said. She said she did not want to be identified for fear her husband would lose his job.

"He was really upset that they took his free time with his family away from him," she said. In general, she said "he felt like they were pushing the Republican choice on him and he felt a little intimidated by that."

Blomquist's correspondents said they are routinely pressured to donate to Republican causes and that the company keeps track of who gives and who doesn't. Workers sometimes have their pay envelopes stuffed with political literature, the employee's wife said.

Bill Maloney has been spending so much time with the Pennsylvania RNC delegation that you’d think he was running for governor of the Keystone State instead of West Virginia.

This morning he spoke at the state delegation breakfast, which also included a speech by former presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Santorum.

His own delegation is staying at a hotel next door, so spending time with Pennsylvania’s GOP loyalists is convenient. It’s also smart if he wants to raise enough money to wage a general election battle against incumbent Democratic Earl Ray Tomblin in a state that leans left.

West Virginia and Pennsylvania are part of the same regional economy and they share interests in energy regulation, so it makes sense to get Keystone Republicans onboard with his campaign, Mr. Maloney said in an interview after this morning’s breakfast.

“You’re a big energy state, too,” he told delegates during the breakfast. “If you do the right thing and start at the state level we can be an energy independent America.”

But it’s not just about shared interests in energy policy, Mr. Maloney said. A lot of companies headquartered in Pittsburgh, such as PPG Industries, have plants in West Virginia, he said.

Mr. Maloney said he’s been able to meet with Pennsylvania GOP leaders who are more adept at campaign fundraising than their counterparts to the southwest. They’re also helping him organize upcoming fundraisers in Pittsburgh and Lehigh County, he said.

“When you’re staying just in West Virginia it’s hard to raise money,” he said.

West Virginia ranks 49th^th among states in terms of both per capita income and median household income. Pennsylvania – which ranks 22^nd in per capita income and 24^th in household income – is a good place to turn for help because of its proximity.

Mr. Maloney says he can see Pennsylvania from his house. (The last Republican candidate who talked about cross-border views from her home state didn’t fare so well in her bid for office.)

The P-G's Rob Rogers and fellow editorial cartoonist Scott Stantis did a spot for PBS Newshour's website, wherein Rob drew the cartoon we ran here yesterday. Video below:

Democrat Matt Smith's campaign for the empty state Senate seat south of Pittsburgh released a poll memo last night claiming he holds a 16-point lead over GOP opponent D. Raja. The candidates, both from Mt. Lebanon, are trying to fill the 37th District seat vacated by Republican John Pippy.

Raja began TV advertising yesterday.

Full memo after the jump: