A recent column analyzed what a Donald Trump presidency would mean for the Bluegrass State. In the interest of fairness, let’s now take a look at what Kentucky would look like if Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton were elected.

Energy/Coal: Clinton recently came under fire for anti-coal comments at a CNN town hall debate in Ohio. The former secretary of state said, “We’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.”

Several Republicans, including U.S. senators from Kentucky Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell, criticized Clinton for her comments, saying this is proof that Clinton does not care about working-class Americans.

Clinton wrote a letter in response to the criticism, saying she was “mistaken” in her comments.

“Coal will be part of the energy mix for years to come,” Clinton wrote. Still, the comments were a change of pace for Clinton, who in November proposed a $30 billion plan to aid coal communities. 

Despite attempts to save face in wake of the controversy, Clinton has been outspoken in her acknowledgement of climate change and has received endorsements from green energy activist groups. Convincing Kentucky voters that she is passionate about preserving coal will be a tall order.

Health care: If elected, Clinton has pledged to defend the Affordable Care Act and work to further reduce health care costs by cracking down on drug companies that charge excessive prices.

Considering the Affordable Care Act’s successful implementation in Kentucky, Clinton would likely butt heads with Gov. Matt Bevin on the Medicaid expansion and Bevin’s plan to dismantle Kynect, Kentucky’s health care exchange established under the new law.

Immigration: Clinton takes a completely different approach to immigration than Trump’s proposed policy of a wall on the Mexican border, funded by the Mexican government. Clinton advocates comprehensive immigration reform with a full path to citizenship, and she said she would defend President Barack Obama’s executive action that created deportation relief programs for millions of immigrants, currently subject to a Supreme Court hearing.

A Clinton presidency could provide relief to immigrant workers in Kentucky, who make up a huge portion of Kentucky’s agricultural workers.

Many Americans believe their vote won’t make a difference in this country’s future. Nothing could be further from the truth in this election

Cheyene Miller is the managing editor of the Kentucy Kernel.

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