Gov. Jim Justice, seen Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 in Bluefield, W.Va., has been elected West Virginia’s next U.S. senator. (Office of the Gov. Jim Justice | Courtesy photo)
Gov. Jim Justice will be going to Washington D.C. as West Virginia’s newest senator. The Associated Press called the race for Justice as soon as polls closed at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
As of 8 p.m. with 8% of votes counted in the state, Justice — a Republican — had secured 58.6% of votes against the 38.4% won by his Democratic challenger Glenn Elliott, the former mayor of Wheeling.
Justice will join U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito in Washington, D.C., marking the first time since 1958 that two Republicans have represented West Virginia in the U.S. Senate. The seat he is taking has been held by Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., since 2010. Manchin — after leaving the Democratic Party in May to register as an independent — announced last year that he would not be seeking reelection.
Justice has served as West Virginia’s governor since 2016, when he was elected as a Democrat. In 2017, while on stage with former President Donald Trump in Huntington, Justice announced he would be registering as a Republican and leaving the Democratic Party.
In the years since and after his reelection in 2020, Justice has held steadfast in his staunch conservative views. As governor, he is strongly anti-abortion, having signed a near-total abortion ban in the state in 2022 following the fall of Roe vs. Wade on the federal level. He has supported and advocated for numerous policies that undermine the rights of LGBTQ+ people, including limits on medically sound gender-affirming care and a bill that would have banned transgender children from competing on high school sports teams that match their gender identity.
Since 2020, Justice has been a vocal critic of President Joe Biden and his administration’s policies. A longtime coal mining operator, he regularly spends his weekly virtual press briefings lamenting the country’s energy policies and blaming Biden, former President Barack Obama and other Democrats for the ongoing downturn in coal production.
Justice has also been vocal regarding his concerns about the “crisis” at the country’s southern border, blaming illegal immigration for the onslaught of fentanyl-related overdoses that occur in West Virginia despite evidence that most drug trafficking is the product of U.S. citizens. In 2023, he sent members of the West Virginia National Guard to Eagle Pass, Texas, for a voluntary mission at the border.
The mission — criticized as a political stunt by people in both West Virginia and Texas in the lead up to the 2024 primary election — cost West Virginia taxpayers more than $900,000, according to documents from the National Guard.
Justice’s election to the Senate comes after months of bad news and challenges for his family’s business empire, which owes millions to numerous banks, federal agencies and local governments due to unpaid fines, taxes and loans.
Last month, it was announced that the Greenbrier Hotel — a luxury resort and tourism destination owned by Justice — was, yet again, slated for foreclosure and public auction because his family defaulted on millions in loans used to purchase the resort. On Oct. 15, the Justice family announced that they refinanced their debt, averting the auction a second time. Justice thanked God for the situation being resolved, however no details have been shared publicly regarding where the money came from or how the family satisfied its debt
Proceedings are still ongoing regarding about $530,000 the Justice family owes to the federal government for a decade’s worth of unpaid health and safety fines at coal mines operated by the family. Federal attorneys have asked a judge to hold 23 of the Justice family coal mines in contempt for nonpayment. Attorneys for the companies say they’re too destitute to pay, blaming politics and the ongoing downturn in coal production nationwide.
Despite these challenges, Justice has kept a strong and steady lead over Elliott throughout the entire election season. He has positioned himself repeatedly as a businessman over being a politician.
As governor, he has claimed for years that he is not at all involved in his family’s businesses, leaving his children instead at the helm. He still, however, lists the businesses on his financial disclosures and is often named in legal proceedings when banks or governments file to collect on the debts they are owed.
Justice has refused to enter most of his businesses into a blind trust while serving as governor. In May, after his primary win against Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., Justice said that would remain the case if he were elected to the Senate.
In the months leading up to Tuesday’s election, Justice was confident that he would win the Senate seat. Details on what he will do once there, however, have been sparse.
In October, he told reporters that he believed he would do well in a position overseeing either energy or business policies. But questions remain — from members of both major political parties — of how active Justice will be as a senator.
He has faced criticism for years over being an absentee governor. Despite a court decision ordering him to reside in the state’s capital — which is a constitutional requirement for anyone serving as governor — Justice has instead continued to live in his Lewisburg home, driving several hours to and from Charleston when necessary.
He was largely absent during the state’s 60 day legislative sessions and has on numerous occasions refused to provide the media and others with copies of his official schedule, with his office saying he does not keep one.
While serving as governor, he has also continued to coach high school basketball in Greenbrier County, a job he told reporters last year he would potentially keep if elected to the Senate.
Last month, Politico reported that these habits could have consequences for Republicans in the Senate, who — depending on official election results coming after Tuesday evening — could control the body by a slim majority and need every vote they can get to achieve their policy goals.
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