BELMONT, Ohio — Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan criticized President Barack Obama's administration at a campaign stop Saturday in the coal-rich eastern region of battleground Ohio, saying the Democrat's energy policies are putting the coal industry out of business.
Ryan spoke for less than 15 minutes to roughly 1,100 supporters gathered at a rainy rally at a campground in Belmont. He encouraged them to vote early for the GOP ticket, telling them they are in "the battleground of battleground states."
"The one thing you can do is elect a man named Mitt Romney who will end this war on coal and allow us to keep these good paying jobs," Ryan said to applause.
The area is close to West Virginia and in a region of Ohio where the Romney campaign thinks it can swing voters its way because of concerns about the economy and the future of the coal industry under Obama. Ryan told supporters they could be a "linchpin" in the election.
Ryan, a congressman from Wisconsin, accused Obama of not telling the country about his policy agenda should the Democrat be elected to another term in office.
"He's not even telling you what he plans on doing," Ryan said.
He said Obama had told people in the last presidential campaign that when politicians don't have fresh ideas, they resort to stale tactics to scare voters and make the election about "small things."
"Well ladies and gentleman, that's what President Obama said in 2008, and that is exactly what President Obama is doing today," Ryan said. "And we're not going to let him get away with it, are we?"
The Obama campaign on Saturday accused Ryan and Romney of not being truthful about their stance on coal.
"Under President Obama, employment in Ohio's coal mining industry is up 11 percent while he's making historic investments in clean coal research and development," said Jessica Kershaw, an Obama campaign spokeswoman in Ohio.
In Ohio, coal is responsible for some 3,000 underground and surface jobs, and it generates more than 87 percent of the state's electricity. Ohio is seventh in the nation in coal reserves with 23.7 billion short tons, and Belmont County is the leading coal producer in the state, churning out 760 million tons since 1816, according to the Ohio Coal Association.
The Romney campaign has sharply criticized Obama's support for stricter regulations on coal and natural gas. It's seen as a way in with white working-class voters, on whom his candidacy depends.
But Belmont County hasn't gone for a Republican since Richard Nixon in 1972. Obama won the county narrowly in 2008, with 16,302 votes compared with 15,422 for Republican John McCain. And Romney's campaign thinks it has a good shot of doing better in eastern Ohio.
Dan Tucker and his wife, Janie, both Republicans from Woodsfield, said they believe Romney and Ryan will support coal jobs more than the Obama administration.
Dan Tucker works at a coal mine in nearby Beallsville. Standing next to Dan outside the event, Janie said they're not happy with the administration or new Environmental Protection Agency rules. And they said they don't like that the administration supports shipping coal overseas.
"It's our coal," Janie said. "We need to keep our coal in our country."
Bill Meyers, 58, voted for Obama in 2008 but said he is supporting Romney this fall. Meyers said he was disappointed with Obama's policies from the beginning of his presidency.
"He spent all that money with the stimulus," Meyers said. "What he's done with Israel, what happened with Libya, the response — just the whole works. Nothing ever came out good."
Meyers, a Democrat who lives in rural Belmont County, said some of his friends have had to get two jobs just to support their families. Meyers retired from his county job after 35 years, but he said he's picked up part-time work stocking shelves at a store just to make ends meet.
Ohio's unemployment rate ticked down last month to 7 percent from 7.2 percent, below the national average of 7.8 percent.
But asked about improvements to the rate, Meyers attributed the decrease to the management style of Republican Gov. John Kasich, not Obama.
"I think that Romney has the management ability where Obama doesn't," Meyers said.