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Donald Trump is backing himself into a corner on energy issues by focusing heavily on coal-industry jobs at the expense of cleaner forms of energy, according to right-leaning campaign operatives.

Republican candidates generally have to thread a needle on energy issues to win in swing states, but Trump isn’t taking a very nuanced approach, said Rob Collins, a Republican campaign consultant who previously was executive director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. To win in swing states, Republicans generally have to support domestic production of affordable energy sources but also come across as forward-looking on clean energy, he said.

Collins spoke at an event Tuesday sponsored by Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, R Street Institute, RepublicEn, Young Conservatives for Energy Reform, ConservAmerica, Niskanen Center,Opportunity.us, Citizens Climate Lobby and Conservation Leadership Council.

Those groups are exploring ways that conservative politicians can affect energy policy and avoid the partisan debates that characterize environmental and energy production issues.

A few swing-state Republican senators who face tough 2016 re-election campaigns have successfully walked that tightrope so far, Collins said. But at the top of the ticket, Trump is more focused on coal jobs than most Republicans in competitive races.

“He hasn’t broadened and talked about domestic production of other energy sources,” Collins said, adding that Trump’s response to international energy issues is: “We’re getting ripped off and we’re going to stop it.”

“It’s kind of an overly broad message,” Collins said.

That approach is smart “only if you want to win Kentucky,” said Alex Gage, chief executive of TargetPoint Consulting. “And West Virginia.”

Source: fortune