Trump Endorses Jim Justice In Bid For U.S. Senate – Wheeling Intelligencer
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Oct 19, 2023
Photo courtesy of White House Former president Donald Trump has endorsed West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice for U.S. Senate.
CHARLESTON — Former Republican president Donald Trump, who is once again seeking the presidency after losing re-election in 2020, has endorsed Gov. Jim Justice for the GOP primary for U.S. Senate.
In a post on his Truth Social platform Wednesday evening, Trump made his support for Justice known, calling him “Big Jim Justice.”
“Big Jim Justice, the Governor of the Great State of West Virginia (I LOVE WEST VIRGINIA), is BIG in every way, but especially his wonderful HEART,” Trump posted. “… Big Jim will be a Great UNITED STATES SENATOR, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement. HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!!!”
Justice and the Trump family are friends, with Justice and Donald Trump Jr. often hunting together in southern West Virginia.
At Trump’s urging, Justice switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party in the summer of 2017 at a Trump rally in Huntington nearly six months after being elected as a registered Democrat.
“I’m honored and thankful to be endorsed by (Trump),” Justice posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Wednesday night. “I’m the strongest Republican to win the U.S. Senate in West Virginia!”
Justice’s 2020 campaign for re-election as governor was run by several consultants who had worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign for president.
Last week, the Justice campaign released an internal poll by Fabrizio, Lee and Associates, a firm used frequently by the Trump campaign. According to the poll, 62% of respondents support Justice for Senate, with 23% saying they support U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., and 15% undecided.
Mooney was endorsed by Trump in his 2022 Republican primary for the newly redistricted 2nd Congressional District covering the northern half of the state. Mooney defeated former 1st District Congressman David McKinley after their two districts were combined. Mooney secured Trump’s endorsement in the race after traveling to Trump’s Florida resort in Mar-a-Lago in the fall of 2021. Trump opposed McKinley’s support for the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021.
But according to a July CNN news report, Trump had reportedly told Mooney after visiting him twice that he was unlikely to back Mooney for U.S. Senate, citing Justice’s loyalty to Trump and his willingness to change parties at Trump’s request in 2017, though it was unclear whether Trump would endorse at all in the U.S. Senate race.
“He more just impressed upon me that Jim Justice party switched for Trump at a rally, and that he feels some loyalty to Mr. Justice for that purpose,” Mooney told CNN.
Mooney is also backed by the conservative advocacy group Club for Growth, which previously pledged up to $10 million towards supporting Mooney over Justice. But the Club for Growth has actively campaigned against Trump in his effort to secure the Republican nomination for president in 2024.
Despite Trump’s numerous state and federal indictments — including for allegedly refusing to return classified documents, efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election to Democratic President Joe Biden, and his words and actions that led to a riot by Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021 – have not dinged his popularity in West Virginia.
According to a poll released last week by Emerson College, 59% of likely voters in West Virginia said they would choose Trump, while 23% said they would choose Biden. When asked if anything could change their mind on supporting Trump, 58% said they couldn’t think of anything Trump could do or say to change their minds.
Justice and Mooney are seeking the U.S. Senate seat held by U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., though Manchin has not decided whether to seek re-election for a third six-year term. Manchin has said he will make an announcement about his political future at the end of the year.
In a hypothetical head-to-head race, the Emerson College poll shows Justice leading with 41%, while Manchin had 28% support.
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