I stand corrected on that detail - that hardly makes someone the ideal candidate as a nominee is a criminal convict who spent a year in prison for a mining disaster that killed 29 people because the conviction was a “misdemeanor.”
From a strictly political point of view, it is a serious deficit to overcome. I don't know how the people of West Virginia are going to look at this, but I think he loses a lot of them right out of the gate.
The man says he is innocent, and that he was railroaded on the only charge on which he was convicted. The fact that he wasn't given a felony argues on his behalf, and so does the fact that this occurred under the Obama administration and shortly after mine inspectors ordered changes.
I can see this thing going badly, and I just hope the people of West Virginia make the best choice.