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Like thousands of men born in the remote mountain towns of Appalachia, Jamie Adams followed his father and both grandfathers into the darkness of the coal mines. But as the industry collapsed around him in 2014 he was laid off for the third time in five years. The moment had come to give up heaving rock for something else.

Today he sits in a cushioned swivel chair and spends his days typing on a MacBook. Mr Adams has whipsawed from coal to coding and reinvented himself as a programmer, catching the attention of Hillary Clinton’s campaign as it confronts the ruinous loss of mining jobs in Appalachia’s biggest industry.

 

“The biggest difference from being underground is not getting dirty all the time,” says Mr Adams, 33, a man of few words with a bushy ginger beard. “It was rough at first. Just having to sit here. But it was fun too, because I’ve always enjoyed computers.”

In an election dominated by character attacks, coal country stands out as a region where a single policy question — what to do about unemployed miners — still eclipses all else, including allegations of sexual assault against Donald Trump.

 

Mr Adams personifies how Mrs Clinton wants to create a new Appalachian economy unbound from coal. But despite a $30bn pledge to revitalise the region with broadband, new roads and pro-investment tax incentives, she is struggling against Mr Trump and his promise to return to the heyday of coal.

 

Mr Adams’ employer is BitSource, a start-up housed in a former bottling plant in Pikeville, Kentucky, which is staffed by nine ex-coal workers who possess more camouflage jackets and muddy pick-up trucks than the archetypal tech business.

 

The coders who work on clients’ websites and databases have been praised by Trevor Houser, Mrs Clinton’s energy adviser, as a ray of hope. But the Democratic presidential candidate is not viewed with great affection by many local voters.

 

When the Clinton campaign invited a BitSource representative to take part in Mrs Clinton’s visit to Appalachia in May, Rusty Justice, who co-founded the start-up and also runs a mining company, replied: “We are not available

Source: FT.com