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| Gov. Jim Justice Is Expected to Announce Senate Run for Joe Manchin’s Seat | Gov. Jim Justice Is Expected to Announce Senate Run for Joe Manchin’s Seat |
| (36 minutes later) | |
| Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia indicated that he would announce a Senate campaign on Thursday, giving Republicans a strong recruit against Senator Joe Manchin III, one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for re-election in 2024. | Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia indicated that he would announce a Senate campaign on Thursday, giving Republicans a strong recruit against Senator Joe Manchin III, one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for re-election in 2024. |
| In a media advisory sent out Wednesday morning, Mr. Justice’s team teased a “special announcement” at 5 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. It made a point to note that his English bulldog — Babydog, known for a memorable appearance last year at Mr. Justice’s State of the State speech — would be present for the announcement. | |
| While the advisory did not specify the nature of the announcement, it offered a livestream link to a YouTube page with the description “The official YouTube channel for Jim Justice for U.S. Senate, Inc.” | While the advisory did not specify the nature of the announcement, it offered a livestream link to a YouTube page with the description “The official YouTube channel for Jim Justice for U.S. Senate, Inc.” |
| Mr. Manchin, the only Democrat who has proved able to win a Senate election in West Virginia in recent years, has not confirmed whether he will run for re-election. But if he does, Mr. Justice could prove a formidable opponent: He is popular in West Virginia, and the state is overwhelmingly Republican. | Mr. Manchin, the only Democrat who has proved able to win a Senate election in West Virginia in recent years, has not confirmed whether he will run for re-election. But if he does, Mr. Justice could prove a formidable opponent: He is popular in West Virginia, and the state is overwhelmingly Republican. |
| If Mr. Manchin doesn’t run, the path for Republicans to retake the seat would be even clearer. | If Mr. Manchin doesn’t run, the path for Republicans to retake the seat would be even clearer. |
| First, though, Mr. Justice would need to make it through a Republican primary. He will have at least one major opponent, Representative Alex Mooney, who is closely allied with former President Donald J. Trump. | First, though, Mr. Justice would need to make it through a Republican primary. He will have at least one major opponent, Representative Alex Mooney, who is closely allied with former President Donald J. Trump. |
| Mr. Mooney has already attacked Mr. Justice as a “RINO,” or “Republican in name only,” one of Mr. Trump’s and his allies’ favorite insults. | |
| Mr. Justice, a billionaire businessman, was first elected governor in 2016 and re-elected in 2020, making him term-limited next year. He initially ran and won as a Democrat, but switched his party affiliation to Republican in 2017, less than a year into his first term. | |
| He made that announcement at a rally alongside Mr. Trump, saying, “Today I will tell you as West Virginians that I can’t help you anymore being a Democrat governor.” As is traditional for politicians who switch allegiances, he said his former party had moved away from him, not the other way around. |