Hillary Clinton won't be getting the support of one of the top Democrats in a major coal state.

West Virginia gubernatorial candidate Jim Justice, a businessman who owns coal companies, distanced himself from the Democratic presidential nominee Monday morning, telling MetroNews he "cannot be a supporter of Hillary Clinton."

"The reason I can't be is her position on coal is diametrically, completely wrong in many, many different ways," Justice told MetroNews' Talkline program.

Clinton faces an uphill battle in West Virginia, a state she's widely expected to lose to Donald Trump.

The former secretary of state has been pilloried in coal country for her comments this year when she stated her intention to "put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business."

While Clinton supporters maintain the full context of that statement showed Clinton's concern for coal miners through her plan to transition them into other careers, many in Appalachia believe Clinton plans to dismantle the industry.

Clinton lost the state handily to Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary.

Justice, meanwhile, is the front-runner for the West Virginia governorship and plans to support Democrats on the rest of the ballot. He said it's foolish for Clinton and the federal government to simply give up on coal.

"Everybody had their heads stuck in the sand and said, 'It's over.' I'm the one that said, 'Wait a minute. Full stop. I'm not willing to give up on our miners. Full stop,'" Justice told MetroNews. "I'm the one that said, 'Really and truly, I believe there's good days in front of us as far as the metallurgical market.'"