Us & Them: Working Man vs. The Political Machine

The 2020 political campaigns are in high gear and the elections are just weeks away. This year, one West Virginia man watches from the sidelines, knowing what it’s like to put on a statewide campaign. Four years ago, Bo Copley was an unemployed miner who got the chance to ask then-candidate Hillary Clinton a question that resonated with many people. In 2018, Copley waged his first political campaign for the U.S. Senate. A new documentary, “The Campaign of Miner Bo'' airs this fall on many PBS stations and shadows Copley’s unsuccessful run for office and the things he learned from the experience. Documentary filmmaker Todd Drezner, a New Yorker who voted for Clinton, tells the story of the unlikely candidate as a way to learn about a West Virginian who voted for Donald Trump.

For this episode, Us & Them host Trey Kay has a talk with Copley and Drezner.