Blankenship meets the candidates

Despite the controversy with the Maynard situation, two candidates running for the WV Supreme Court have also met with Don Blankenship.

Republican Beth Walker and Democrat Menis Ketchum both met with the Massey chief prior to filing for the race.


The magazine Shepherdstown Observer said Walker has been "in talks" with Blankenship.

Beth Walker, who has announced that she will be trying to become a judge on the WV Supreme Court, says that she has been in talks with controversial political donor and CEO of Massey Energy, Don Blankenship. Walker would not say whether Mr. Blankenship has committed to supporting her campaign. She also would not discuss her values or which issues are important to her. “The Supreme Court should interpret the law, nothing more than that,” she said.

Walker said she met with Blankenship once, but told the Charleston Daily Mail that she's asked for a retraction from the Observer, claiming the two merely discussed issues and that it was not a discussion regarding support.

According to the Daily Mail's Thursday report, Blankenship met with at least three potential candidates for the bench.

Greg Thomas, a political consultant who has worked with Blankenship in past elections, said Blankenship met with Walker and Ketchum - a Democrat - and Cabell County Circuit Judge Dan O'Hanlon, another Democrat who was considering a Supreme Court run but didn't officially file for the election.