Justice in the Senate? West Virginia governor ‘very interested’ in challenging Joe Manchin
Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice told Fox News Monday he was “very interested” in pursuing a 2024 U.S. Senate bid for the seat, currently held by Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va .
Justice, a former Democrat who notably aligned himself with the GOP after making an announcement at a 2017 Trump rally, told Your World that Washington, D.C. is a “mess” under the Biden administration and that the Way he flipped the Mountain State economy and budget would serve him well in the Senate.
“I am very interested. I mean, that’s all there is to it, and I mean it very seriously.
“I’m a guy who clings to the truth. I’m a guy who is attached to service. I never took anything away from being governor of this great state. We’ve taken it from a really tough time to where we now have incredible surpluses and are on track to maybe cut our personal income tax by 50%.”
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Jim Justice, Governor of West Virginia
(Reuters)
Justice said he firmly believes that “we could lose this nation” if leaders don’t know exactly what’s going on in America.
“And so I am a patriot through and through. And so I mean it very, very seriously.”
Asked about Manchin’s position as the rare moderate Democrat from the red state who has angered his party’s emerging progressive wing, Justice said he does not want to debate Manchin or his job performance at this time – and said he knows his former fellow governor well.
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Senator Joe Manchin, DW.V.
(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Justice said there’s always a chance Manchin will not opt for re-election – leaving the seat open in 2024. Another West Virginia legislator, Rep. Alex X. Mooney, RW.Va., announced in November his intention to also seek re-election from the Republican nomination in Manchin’s race.
Justice said his only criticism of Manchin was that “One minute Joe moves in one direction and another moment he moves in another direction. And after all, I’m not going to sit here… and throw rocks at Joe.”
He noted that he had brought West Virginia’s state finances to new levels of surplus and oversaw several economic development opportunities during his tenure.
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Justice is a billionaire businessman himself who owns, among other things, the luxurious Greenbrier Resort in White Sulfur Springs, WV.
However, he later told Cavuto that he “probably wouldn’t fund a campaign” himself because a successful candidate must have others “pulling the rope around me.”
“I really and truly drain her energy,” he noted.
