The Obama administration’s new ultra-restrictive EPA regulations, requiring states to curb power plant emissions by 30 percent over the next 15 years, has just handed Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) the election.

Coal-heavy states like Kentucky are going to get hammered by the Obama administration’s proposed EPA regs, which are expected to decimate jobs in coal-dependent areas. As The Week’s Jon Terbush points out, in 2012 Kentucky was the nation’s third-largest coal producer, deriving 93 percent of its energy from coal.

When the administration announced the proposal, McConnell immediately blasted it, arguing that the new regulations would be “staggering for millions” and saying that they are “a dagger in the heart of the American middle class, and to representative Democracy itself." The Courier-Journal reports:

In a news conference at Louisville International Airport, the Senate minority leader said any attempt to further control carbon emissions "has to be done on a global basis."

He said increased emissions by China and India will more than offset the reductions Obama is seeking. "This will be a body blow to Kentucky's economy."

Meanwhile, McConnell’s opponent, Alison Lundergan Grimes, is attempting to distance herself from the Obama administration and portray herself as a friend of coal, stating that the proposed rules are just "more proof that Washington isn't working for Kentucky."

As Terbush argues, McConnell’s already sizable advantage just became even more daunting for Grimes. While he might not need the “War on Coal,” Terbush states, “it never hurts to have another issue around which to energize the base when you're up for re-election.”