(RepublicanNews.org) – Republican West Virginia Governor Jim Justice is term-limited in 2024, but he has his eye on a bigger prize: the Senate seat held by Democrat Joe Manchin.
Manchin will be up for reelection in 2024, and his seat may be vulnerable. Often styled by the media as a “moderate Democrat,” Manchin is one of the only Democratic Senators to oppose some of the more extreme positions of his own party.
He has been a burr in the side of the Democratic party and the White House for refusing to go along with the complete policy package pushed by the left.
Gov. Jim Justice, formerly a Democrat, filed paperwork on April 27th with the Federal Elections Commission. This is the first step in a federal election campaign. Manchin has not yet said whether he will run again for his seat next year.
Justice is a billionaire with interests in coal mining and luxury resort hotels. He has been dropping hints about a possible Senatorial run for several months.
If Manchin runs, he will not be Justice’s only opponent. West Virginia Rep. Alex Mooney, also a Republican, launched his campaign for Senate in November 2022. Mooney is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, considered a very conservative group. He is seen as having a more right-wing orientation than Justice.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has endorsed Mooney, and the deep-pocketed conservative Club for Growth has promised to spend tens of millions on his campaign.
Justice and Mooney are both seeking the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, though Trump has said nothing so far about the West Virginia Republican primary contest.
Like many U.S. states in recent years, West Virginia’s political leanings are shifting. The state was once solidly Democratic but has taken a hard turn to the right over the past few election cycles. Donald Trump won the state handily by 29 points in the 2020 election.
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