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Coal is king in West Virginia. What's less clear is who the state's next US senator will be.

Locked in a tight race for the state鈥檚 open Senate seat, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R) and West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant (D) are each jockeying to be more pro-coal than the other. Recent polling shows Capito maintains about a 10-point edge with November鈥檚 midterm elections drawing closer.

The latest coal-related jab comes from Ms. Tennant, who is slamming Representative Capito for campaigning Tuesday alongside 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Tennant鈥檚 campaign has labeled Mr. Romney 鈥渃oal鈥檚 public enemy #1,鈥� in reference to a 2003 appearance in which Romney 鈥� then governor of Massachusetts 鈥� pointed at a coal plant and said: 鈥淭hat plant kills people.鈥�

Looking at the West Virginia Senate race, observers may feel like they鈥檝e entered a Twilight Zone in which Democrats can boast of having positions as pro-coal as Republicans, and where a former GOP presidential hopeful is called 鈥渃oal鈥檚 public enemy #1.鈥�

鈥淚f you look at the dynamics of the West Virginia races, it鈥檚 like: 鈥榃ho鈥檚 the Democrat here?鈥欌�� says Christopher Plein, a professor of public administration at West Virginia University.

Mr. Plein credits West Virginia鈥檚 distinct history and legacy of coal development for creating an atmosphere in which both sides vehemently criticize one another on coal. Coal is less vital to West Virginia鈥檚 economy than it once was, Plein says, but grandstanding about the state鈥檚 storied natural resource helps candidates confirm their ties to West Virginia and distance themselves from the Washington establishment.

鈥淐oal sort of serves as shorthand. If you say that you鈥檙e pro-coal, you establish your bona fides,鈥� Plein says. 鈥淵ou establish that you鈥檙e pro-West Virginia.鈥�

And both campaigns are trying to do just that.

鈥淭he fact that Congresswoman Capito would align herself with someone who believes coal 鈥榢ills people鈥� just to make a quick buck shows how quickly she will turn her back on West Virginia coal miners to get Wall Street dollars,鈥� Tennant spokeswoman Jennifer Donohue said in a statement last week, accusing Capito of inviting Romney for fundraising purposes.

Capito鈥檚 campaign fired back at Tennant, tying her to President Obama and his proposed regulations on coal-fired power plants.

鈥淚t is an honor to receive Governor Romney鈥檚 endorsement,鈥� Capito said at Tuesday鈥檚 rally with Romney in Beckley, W.Va. 鈥淚 am pro-coal, pro-jobs, pro-West Virginia and I am ready to take our fight directly to President Obama, Harry Reid and anyone else who wants to cast our state aside.鈥�

Romney shifted away from rhetoric critical of coal after wrapping up his time as governor in Massachusetts. 鈥淲est Virginians have a clear choice in this election,鈥� Romney said in support of Capito prior to his appearance Tuesday. 鈥淸A]llow President Obama to continue killing coal jobs, or fight back by electing pro-coal advocates.鈥澛�

Romney is also campaigning alongside Evan Jenkins in West Virginia, the candidate who hopes to unseat US Rep. Nick Rahall (D) in a competitive race.

鈥淭he [West Virginia] Republican party is starting to gain traction and mature,鈥� Plein says, in a state where the Democratic party used to dominate the political scene. But today, state Democrats increasingly must distance themselves from the national party.

With midterm campaigns in full swing, Romney has become a popular campaigner nationwide, making stops in support of Senate candidates Scott Brown in New Hampshire and Joni Ernst in Iowa. Romney is also popular with the Utah Republican Party. As the Monitor reported last week, the Utah state party chair has launched DraftMitt.org in spite of opposition from Romney insiders.