Candidate, United States Senate, West Virginia, 2018, 2020

No caucus information on file.

No professional experience on file.

No organizational membership information on file.

Reason for Seeking Public Office:

My name is Paula Jean Swearengin. I am a proud native of Mullens, West Virginia, and my coal mining roots run deep. I'm a coal miner's daughter, granddaughter, niece and stepdaughter. As a child, I felt a deep sense of pride in our state's coal industry. I felt pride that West Virginia's coal powered our nation through the Industrial Revolution, that it ran our factories through World War II, and that it keeps us running today. America was built on our coal; it was built, in part, on the backs of Appalachians.

Like so many other families in Appalachia, my family paid a steep price for coal. I lost my grandfather to black lung, and I've recently seen my uncles diagnosed with the disease. Our health and lives aren't the only prices we've paid as a region. We've also seen our beautiful streams and rivers polluted with toxins and watched the tops be blown off our mountains. The price we've paid is a high one, perhaps too high.

The best resource in the Appalachian mountains is our people. We are determined, hard working and smart. When we band together, there's nothing we can't accomplish. I'm ready to fight for my family, my neighbors and my state to deliver the prosperous, healthy future West Virginia deserves. The legacy of this great state cannot be burying our own miles deep in coal mines, it must be building a sustainable future for generations to come. We have suffered from the bottom up. It's time for us prosper!