Can a former coal miner win an election against a millionaire? Just ask Clyde McKnight.

A retired coal miner from southern West Virginia, he worked for more than 30 years in the mines and currently serves as the South Central AFL-CIO president. McKnight defeated millionaire and former gubernatorial candidate Melvin Kessler in the Democratic primary by a razor-thin margin of 52 votes this past Tuesday, a win in large part to the grassroots efforts of working people.

A former coal miner beating out a millionaire for a state representative seat was just one of the success stories in West Virginia's primary election. More than one-third of the 100 candidates that the West Virginia AFL-CIO endorsed this year were union members. And they're enjoying a high success rate –of the 34 union members who ran in the state primary on Tuesday, 30 won their races.

Many of these candidates see elected office as an extension of the work they are already doing within their unions to give back to their communities.

Drawing on his experience in the mines, McKnight campaigned on a platform of investing in affordable energy and bringing back American manufacturing. “As a coal miner, I understand the unique struggles we have in West Virginia," McKnight said.

American manufacturing was built on affordable energy, on coal. We can't afford gas prices at almost $4 per gallon.