West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, recruited by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to enter politics as a Democrat in 2016, is now the overwhelming favorite to succeed the retiring Mr. Manchin in the U.S. Senate in 2025 as a Trump-endorsed Republican.
Mr. Justice easily outpaced Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) in the May 14 GOP Senate primary in a race called by the Associated Press, among others, with less than 10 percent of the tally counted around 8:15 p.m.
Mr. Justice is the prohibitive front-runner in November’s general election against Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott, an aide to the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), whp notched the Democrat nomination by edging progressive Zach Shrewsbury and former coal company CEO Don Blankenship in the Democrat primary.
The mayor faces long odds in gaining any traction against the folksy, popular term-limited governor in a state dominated by Democrats as recently as a decade ago—but now in full fade.
Former President Donald Trump carried West Virginia with nearly 69 percent of the 2020 vote. Only Wyoming gave him a larger victory margin.
According to the West Virginia Secretary of State, the state has 1.18 million registered voters. Just over 30 percent are signed on as Democrats and nearly 41 percent as Republicans. Almost a third of registered voters are unaffiliated but tend to vote for Republicans.
Even before Mr. Manchin, West Virginia’s only statewide elected Democrat, announced he would not seek a fourth term, the GOP had prioritized his seat—occupied by Democrats since 1958, more than a half-century by Mr. Byrd—as a key to regaining control of the Senate in 2025.
Democrats now lead the Senate 51–49. Of 34 chamber seats on 2024 ballots nationwide, 23 are held by Democrats and Independents. Mr. Manchin joined Montana’s Jon Tester, Ohio’s Sherrod Brown, and Arizona’s Krysten Sinema as the Democrat and Independent Senate incumbents facing the most difficult reelections.
Nearly $6 million was spent by the seven West Virginia GOP Senate candidates, more than $5 million by the Justice and Mooney campaigns. It is projected by Open Secrets to be the fourth-most expensive Senate primary of the 2024 election cycle, underpinning the perception that the inter-party rival to emerge victorious is, essentially, West Virginia’s newest U.S. Senator.
Mr. Justice, 73, a billionaire whose family owns coal operations, assorted businesses, and the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, was recruited by Mr. Manchin and elected governor as a Democrat in 2016.
In 2017, during a 2017 rally in Huntington, West Virginia, with President Trump at his side, he switched parties to become a Republican.
The Democrat-turned-Republican was solicited to run against Mr. Manchin by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.).
He is the only candidate on West Virginia’s May 14 ballot in any race endorsed by President Trump, who made a May 11 video pitch for the governor, praising his stances on immigration and the border, support for an all-of-the-above energy policy, and pro-Second Amendment platform.
“I need you to get out and vote for my friend, Big Jim Justice,” said President Trump. “There’s nobody like Big Jim, the governor of the great State of West Virginia. I love West Virginia, and Big Jim is a big part of it.
In encouraging West Virginians to get to the polls, Mr. Justice in an X post framed a vote for him as a vote for “my friend, President @realDonaldTrump.”
“We must show that West Virginia is Trump Country and our STRONG support for President Trump,” he said before casting his ballot in the early afternoon in Lewisburg.
Mooney Swing and Miss
President Trump’s endorsement tempered any wind the Mooney campaign could muster since much of it was built around reminding voters that Mr. Justice was once a Democrat and calling the moderate governor a “RINO” for praising some of the Biden administration green energy initiatives for bringing jobs to West Virginia.Mr. Mooney, 52, secured President Trump’s endorsement in his 2022 midterm Congressional District 2 primary victory over fellow incumbent Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) and campaigned on being the true ‘MAGA’ conservative.
A five-term House rep and member of the House Freedom Coalition who vacated his seat to run for the Senate.
Supported by the Club for Growth, he was endorsed by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rand Paul (R-Ky), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
If there is an obstacle to Mr. Justice’s breezy path to the Senate, it’s brewing concerns over his financial dealings,
Mr. Justice’s companies have accrued more than $1 billion in debts to financial institutions and are fielding lawsuits regarding unpaid debts to vendors, unpaid federal mine safety penalties, wage garnishments, and other issues.
