CHARLESTON W.V. - The American political landscape has changed a lot over the past 25 years but there is no more dramatic shift that the one that has pushed this state from deep blue to ruby red.
In the 1992 presidential election, Democrat Bill Clinton won West Virginia by a solid 13 percentage points. In November, Republican President-elect Donald Trump captured the state in a walk, winning it by more than 40.
The forces behind that turnaround are complex. The decline of the coal industry and the changing demographics of the political parties explain part of it. But laying underneath that are the peaks and valleys of the Appalachian Mountains that make West Virginia what it is: picturesque, resource-rich and remote.
The coal part of West Virginia's story has dominated much of the West Virginia story and the industry's declines are very real. Coal production in West Virginia has declined by 30% since 2010 and in that time coal mine employment in West Virginia has fallen by more than 27%. Some places have been hit especially hard.
In Boone County, a short drive from Charleston, the mining cuts have shattered the economy - more than 4,000 job lost in the last 5 years, says Kris Mitchell, director of the Boone County Community and Economic development Corporation. And that's in a county with only 24,000 people. Coal production in the county has dropped from 22,400 tons in 2010 to 8,400 in 2010.
Read more at:
http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/west-virginia-how-bluest-state-became-reddest-n697491
