Gov. Jim Justice (R) announced on Thursday that he’s running for Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) seat next year, capping off months of speculation.
“I want to tell you that tonight I am officially announcing my candidacy for United States Senate,” Justice told supporters on Thursday evening. His remarks were preceded by appearances from Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
“And I absolutely will promise you to God above that I will do the job. And I will do the job that will make you proud.”
Justice’s entry into the race makes him the third Republican running in the GOP primary to take Manchin’s seat. Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) launched a bid for the West Virginia Senate seat shortly after winning reelection; Chris Rose – a Trump-aligned, fourth generation coal miner – has also announced a bid for the seat.
The West Virginia race is anticipated to be one of the most closely watched Senate races in 2024 as Manchin is among three Democratic incumbents situated in states that former President Trump won in 2020.
Manchin’s race in particular will attract much attention among the Democratic incumbents, too, given his notoriety for bucking his party at pivotal moments, including initially tanking the White House and his party’s efforts to pass a social spending bill in December 2021. By the following July, Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) had announced they had reached a deal.
What remains unclear is whether Manchin will run for reelection. In an interview last month with CBS’s “Face the Nation,” the West Virginia Democrat said he would “make my political decision in December, whatever it may be.” At the same time, he’s encouraged speculation that he could launch a presidential bid.
Ahead of Justice’s announcement, Manchin released a statement projecting confidence that he would “win any race I enter” while remaining mum on his reelection.
“I am laser focused on doing the job West Virginians elected me to do – lowering healthcare costs, protecting Social Security and Medicare, shoring up American energy security and getting our fiscal house in order. But make no mistake, I will win any race I enter,” he said.
Should Manchin run for reelection and Justice be the GOP nominee, it would offer an interesting match between two elected officials who both at one point served as a Democratic governor to the state. Justice switched his party affiliation while governor to Republican in 2017.
Polling commissioned by the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), suggested that Justice was best positioned among several hypothetical primary challengers, including Mooney and state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R) to win against Manchin. Since the release of the polling, Morrisey announced a run for governor.
A recent Morning Consult survey found that more West Virginians – 66 percent – approve of Justice over Manchin, who received 38 percent support.
Updated at 6:04 p.m.