Democratic Wins Raise Questions Over Coal Suit

Election outcomes could reshape state influence over energy policy and projects. Democrats won the Texas and Iowa attorney general races, changing the states’ representation in a lawsuit accusing BlackRock and State Street of using investments to curb coal production and drive up energy costs; both firms deny the allegations, and a judge has dismissed some claims. Kansas’s attorney general race remained unresolved in the reported count. In Minnesota, the fate of the proposed Twin Metals copper-nickel mine near the Boundary Waters depends in part on the state’s open governor’s race: a state executive order pauses permitting, despite Congress and President Donald Trump having removed a federal restriction, and the candidates differ on whether to keep the order. The cases illustrate how state elections and executive actions can affect both energy litigation and domestic mineral development.