Report: WV Gov. Jim Justice Plans to Launch Senate Campaign Next Week

[mystery-ak]

Report: WV Gov. Jim Justice Plans to Launch Senate Campaign Next Week

Jacob Bliss 22 Apr 2023 Washington, DC


West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) will launch his U.S. Senate campaign next week in the Mountain State, according to an invitation first seen by Politico.

Justice’s long-awaited campaign will launch on Thursday at an event at The Greenbrier, his luxury resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, according to the invitation. A Republican strategist close to Justice confirmed the details to Politico.

His announcement also hands the Republicans a well-funded and popular candidate to go up against Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), the state’s current Democrat senator who has not announced his intentions for 2024.

However, Justice will still have to get through a primary, and Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) has already announced he would be running for the seat.

Justice, who has close ties to former president Donald Trump, enjoys high approval ratings and has personal wealth. In addition to running statewide and winning the governorship twice, he was reportedly heavily recruited by the Senate Republican’s campaign arm. On the other hand, the Club for Growth has already committed to spending over $10 million, if they need to, to get Mooney elected.

Both candidates will be vying for Trump’s endorsement.

Politico acknowledged that allies of Justice have signaled they will use Mooney’s past against him in the primary. The congressman was a state senator in Maryland before moving to West Virginia to run for congress ahead of his 2014 election.

Whoever wins the primary will go up against Manchin, who used to be one of the more popular senators and has now become one of the least popular, next to McConnell. The latest Morning Consult poll found that 55 percent of West Virginia voters view him negatively.

more
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/04/22/report-wv-gov-jim-justice-plans-to-launch-senate-campaign-next-week/

[Free Vulcan]

@mountaineer

Thoughts?

[Fishrrman]

With WV having "turned" to become one of the reddest states in the last 10-15 years, you think there would be a number of young Republicans looking to move into political office...
... instead of "retreads" like Justice.

But, hey... whatever it's gonna take to retire Manchin...

[mountaineer]

Thoughts?

I think he's a buffoon. He doesn't pay his bills or his taxes, he misused Covid money for stupid giveaways (get a vax, win a truck!) and I doubt he has any sincerely held conservative beliefs. Keep in mind he was elected governor as a Democrat, but switched parties afterwards and became Trump's best bud, hosting him at the Greenbrier (owned by the Justice family).

It should be noted that current Rep. Alex Mooney also has declared for the U.S. Senate race, and has received the endorsement of Ted Cruz. I'm a little less "meh" about him than Justice. He's somewhat a carpetbagger and I don't know how sincere a conservative he is, either.


Ted Cruz
@tedcruz
Apr 21
I’m proud to endorse @MooneyforWV for the U.S. Senate in West Virginia.
Alex is a friend, he’s a fighter and a strong conservative who will ferociously defend the Second Amendment, be a champion for American energy, prioritize bringing jobs to West Virginia, and faithfully and aggressively represent the values of the Mountain State in the Senate. 9:43 AM · Apr 21, 2023

[cato potatoe]

But, hey... whatever it's gonna take to retire Manchin...

I'm down with that.  Whatever it takes.  Any democrat holding a seat in West Virginia is a disaster.  Justice has the physique of a one-termer, so he can be replaced in 2030.

[mountaineer]

Justice to announce run for Senate Thursday night
By Jeff Jenkins
April 22, 2023 - 8:06 am
WV Metro News

Gov. Jim Justice appears ready to make his announcement that he’ll run for U.S. Senate next year.

MetroNews has independently confirmed Justice will do so Thursday night at his Greenbrier Resort.  Politico published the initial report.

The report also notes that Justice could still change his mind about the timing of the announcement.

Justice, serving his second 4-year term as governor, turns 72 Thursday.

He’s strongly hinted and nearly come out and said several times that he’ll seek the seat currently held by Democrat Joe Manchin. ...

[mountaineer]

Burgess Everett
@burgessev
GOP Sens. Graham (SC) and Capito (WV) expected to attend Gov. Justice's Senate launch tomorrow for Dem Sen. Manchin's seat, per two sources familiar
3:05 PM · Apr 26, 2023


Andrew Donaldson
@four4thefire
The GOP Senate leadership does not want Mooney anywhere near their side of the US Capitol, and are not being subtle about it. Big opening show of strength for Justice, and if he gets the expect Trump endorsements that he's not-so-subtley hinting at he'll have plenty of firepower

https://twitter.com/BIG_DWD/status/1651349712295931905

[mystery-ak]

 Jim Justice files to run for Manchin’s Senate seat
by Lauren Sforza - 04/27/23 10:22 AM ET

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) filed paperwork Thursday to run for the state’s Senate seat with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) up for reelection in 2024.

The move puts the West Virginia Republican one step closer toward officially launching a Senate campaign for Manchin’s seat. Justice is expected to officially launch his campaign for Senate later Thursday following months of speculation.

Justice, 72, is looking to flip Manchin’s seat in the Senate, jeopardizing the Democrats’ already slim majority in the upper chamber.

Manchin has yet to announce whether he will seek reelection to his Senate seat. He’s also not completely ruled out a White House run.

more
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3975108-jim-justice-files-to-challenge-manchin-in-senate-race/

[DefiantMassRINO]

So far, I've liked what I have seen from Jim Justice.

Manchin was no working-class hero.

[catfish1957]

Rut roh....

Was a dim until 2018.  Now avowed Trump supporter.  ID's as moderate.

WV, hopefully you can do better.

[Cyber Liberty]

I am reserving opinion on this until we hear from @mountaineer. She knows both of them.

[LMAO]

This could be a GOP pick up and we’re gonna need every seat  we can get after 2024

I will agree with another poster who said that they’ll reserve judgment for now and will wait and see what Briefers in his home state have to say about him

[catfish1957]

I will grant .....   A RINO works better for us than a dim.

OTOH, this is has become an increasingly more conservative state, and would hope they wouldn't settle for less.

But agree.  Want to hear @mountaineer  take on this.

[Cyber Liberty]

I will grant .....   A RINO works better for us than a dim.

OTOH, this is has become an increasingly more conservative state, and would hope they wouldn't settle for less.

But agree.  Want to hear @mountaineer  take on this.

Personally, I think she detests them both.

[mountaineer]

Personally, I think she detests them both.

Detests is too strong a word. The lower opinion is reserved for Manchin. 

[catfish1957]

Detests is too strong a word. The lower opinion is reserved for Manchin. 

Are there any strong conservatives there who can pull it off and unseat Manchin?

[mountaineer]

I can think of a few strong conservatives with previous experience in the Legislature, but doubt they are well-known enough to vanquish Manchin. Justice actually might succeed, but my point is that he's hardly a conservative standard-bearer. He's a dolt, a deadbeat and only marginally conservative.

[mountaineer]

One of my acquaintances is more involved in WV GOP politics than I, and he really does detest Justice - or, more specifically, Justice's lack of scruples.

ByrdsFinger+
@ByrdsFinger
SO TYPICAL: @JimJusticeWV announcing at @The_Greenbrier is the perfect example of the way this Governor’s office operates. He won't go to his actual job in Charleston most days. Meanwhile, tons of our WV tax $$ got spent at the resort to support Jim since 2017.
12:42 PM · Apr 27, 2023

ByrdsFinger+
@ByrdsFinger
It's not really news, but right before he took office @JimJusticeWV moved the inaugural ball from Charleston to the Greenbrier so he could pocket nearly $1 million dollars from donors for his business & that scoundrel Lionel Richie
2:55 PM · Apr 27, 2023

More examples at his twitter feed. The problem, of course, is that Joe Manchin is equally ethically-challenged, having enriched himself, his wife and his daughter enormously through the miracle of decades of government "service."

[Bigun]

The problem, of course, is that Joe Manchin is equally ethically-challenged, having enriched himself, his wife and his daughter enormously through the miracle of decades of government "service."

Which is EXACTLY what happens when we stray from the constitution and allow politicians (all stripes) access to the cookie jar.

[Cyber Liberty]

@mountaineer I appreciate your inupts on this thread!

[mountaineer]

Turtle McConnell recruited Justice to run, even though Justice is a good buddy of Trump. Apparently, Mitch was afraid Jim's ties to DJT aren't strong enough, and that Trump might endorse Alex Mooney.

 Politico reports:

As former President Donald Trump prepared his third straight campaign for the White House, Mitch McConnell’s mind was elsewhere.

The Senate GOP leader quietly flew to West Virginia in mid-October to begin wooing Gov. Jim Justice to challenge incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in 2024, according to a person familiar with the previously unreported trip. The upside to McConnell’s visit was simple: Courting Justice early would limit the risk if the former president backs another Manchin challenger and wins the party’s presidential nomination.

Someone like Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.), a member of the House Freedom Caucus who got Trump face time in Florida last week.

So when Justice entered the Senate race on Thursday, it highlighted the crux of McConnell’s 2024 strategy. After several Trump-inspired candidates fell short last fall and denied the GOP the majority, the Kentucky Republican hopes to run a Senate campaign plan that’s divorced from the presidential race. That means getting candidates who can win even with the former president back on the ballot next year. ...

[mountaineer]

It does look like big Jim is a willing tool of the GOP establishment:

... The race is already becoming a proxy fight between mainstream conservative Republicans and the more populist conservative wing. The National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Senate Leadership Fund – the arm of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. – have been recruiting Justice for months. Both U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. – the vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference – and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. were in attendance at Justice’s announcement.  ...

Mooney has received the endorsements of U.S. Senators Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rand Paul, R-Ky. He has also been endorsed by the Conservative Political Action Conference, the Senate Conservatives Fund created by former South Carolina U.S. Senator and former Heritage Foundation president Jim DeMint, and the Club for Growth, which has already pledged $10 million for Mooney, whom it supported for Congress in 2022.

More at Parkersburg (W.Va.) News and Sentinel

[Cyber Liberty]

Turtle McConnell recruited Justice to run, even though Justice is a good buddy of Trump. Apparently, Mitch was afraid Jim's ties to DJT aren't strong enough, and that Trump might endorse Alex Mooney.

 Politico reports:

Turtle doesn't want to win the Senate. He thinks it's better to be in the minority because the Rats give him better bribes.

[Bigun]

If Turtle recruited him he definitely is NOT what we want!

[mountaineer]

This guy is probably the top political commentator in W.Va.

The Knowns and Unknowns of the WV Senate Race
By Hoppy Kercheval
April 28, 2023 - 12:04 am

We are more than a year away from the West Virginia Primary Election and a year-and-a-half before the 2024 General Election, but the political chatter in the Mountain State is already at a high volume.

Two-term Governor Jim Justice is officially in the race for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Joe Manchin. Representative Alex Mooney has been in the race since last November and he and Justice are already sniping at each other. ...

For example, here is a known unknown. Mooney and his supporters are going to subject Justice to withering attacks. They have already released 18 single-spaced pages of opposition research focusing on issues associated with business practices of Justice and his companies. How much, if any, will that hurt Justice?

Here is another one: Senator Shelley Moore Capito, the undisputed leader of the Republican Party in West Virginia, has taken the unusual step of backing a candidate in the primary—Jim Justice. Is that just a courtesy appearance or will Capito use her considerable clout to help Justice?

And another known unknown: No one knows what Manchin is going to do. Maybe he doesn’t even know, and he says he won’t decide for months. ...

W.Va. Metro News

Here's a known: Justice is going to travel the state with his extra heavy-duty stool (because no normal chair can accommodate his girth), his ugly bulldog Babydog and his annoying cornpone country yokel schtick.