Don Blankenship

Donald Leon Blankenship (born March 14, 1950) is an American businessman. He was chairman and CEO of the Massey Energy Company—the sixth-largest coal company (by 2008 production) in the United States—from 2000 until 2010 when an explosion at Massey's Upper Big Branch Mine resulted in the death of 29 workers. He served one year in prison for conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards. Blankenship has frequently spoken out about politics, the environment, unions, and coal production. In the 2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia, Blankenship lost a three-way Republican primary to Patrick Morrisey. Citing false information and dirty politics for his loss and claiming a personal unwillingness to quit, Blankenship attempted to run as the Constitution Party nominee, but was unable to get on the ballot and later endorsed Morrisey. In January 2024, he declared his candidacy as a Democrat for the United States Senate seat held by retiring Senator Joe Manchin in the 2024 election, losing the primary election to Glenn Elliott. Blankenship was also the Constitution Party's nominee in the 2020 United States presidential election.