West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announced that he was running for the U.S. Senate Thursday.
“I am officially announcing my candidacy for the United States Senate,” Justice, 72, said in a small rally in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, “and I absolutely will promise you to God above that I will do the job, and I will do the job that will make you proud.”
Republican Senators Shelley Moore Capito (WV) and Lindsey Graham (SC) shared the podium with Justice, with Senator Graham saying, “We need help in Washington. We need a winner. We need somebody that can win in a general election. A conservative who can move the ball forward in Washington, DC … we’ve made mistakes in 2022. We didn’t nominate maybe the right person for the state in which they were running — I promise you, Jim Justice is the right person for West Virginia.”
Although Congressional Representative Alex Mooney is also in the primary race, news outlets are predicting that Justice will receive the endorsement and financial support of most GOP U.S. Senators.
“Jim Justice is a proven winner whose record of creating jobs, cutting taxes, and fighting for conservative values has made him one of the most popular governors in the country,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines said in a statement Thursday.
Justice, who is in his final two years as Governor under West Virginia term limits, changed parties from (D) to (R) in 2017 and is expected to confront Joe Manchin in the November 2024 general election. Former Governor Manchin, 75, appointed Carte Goodwin to replace the late Senator Robert C. Byrd in late 2010, before winning the Senate seat himself. Manchin has had to defend his seat every six years since, defeating John Raese in 2012 and Patrick Morrisey in 2018. With West Virginia favoring Donald Trump by nearly 40% in 2020, Senator Manchin is perceived to be vulnerable to any GOP challenger.
In response to the Justice announcement, Manchin said, “I am laser focused on doing the job West Virginians elected me to do — lowering healthcare costs, protecting Social Security and Medicare, shoring up American energy security and getting our fiscal house in order … make no mistake, I will win any race I enter,”
Manchin told CNN that Justice’s move “doesn’t change anything at all … every opponent I’ve had is strong.”
(Photo credit: Office of the Governor)