Whereas West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin has but to formally announce a 2024 reelection bid, the Republican major heated up Thursday after Gov. Jim Justice mentioned he’ll battle Rep. Alex X. Mooney, R-W.V. for the nomination.
Justice and Mooney traded barbs amid the announcement, with the Charles City congressman calling governor a RINO (Republican In Title Solely) and declaring himself the “solely conservative within the race.”
Mooney beforehand served as govt director of the Nationwide Journalism Heart, an affiliate of the conservative Younger America’s Basis (YAF) that trains aspiring younger reporters. He’s additionally, as Justice famous on “Fox Information Tonight,” a former Maryland Republican Celebration chairman.
“Mooney is a terrapin,” Justice mentioned on Fox Information, referencing the reptilian mascot of UMD. “From Mooney’s standpoint, calling me a RINO, for God’s sakes of residing, Mooney is from Maryland.”
JUSTICE IN THE SENATE: WV GOV INTERESTED IN CHALLENGING MANCHIN
Manchin (Gaelen Morse/Bloomberg by way of Getty Pictures)
Talking with West Virginia Metro Information earlier this week, Mooney mentioned he’s the “confirmed conservative” and that if voters “need somebody who’s extra of a liberal Republican, there’s Jim Justice.”
Justice, a multi-millionaire businessman who owns coal pursuits in addition to the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.V., was initially elected to the governorship as a Democrat, however modified events when then-candidate Donald Trump visited Huntington in 2017.
On the time, Justice referred to as Trump a person of “spine [and] actual concepts [who] cares about America.”
For his half, Mooney additionally has a connection to Trump, who endorsed him in a key 2022 race that pitted him in opposition to fellow GOP Rep. David McKinley for what’s considerably of a merged district after West Virginia misplaced a congressional seat within the current census.
Of Manchin, his potential common election challenger, Justice mentioned Republicans should take management of the Senate, and that the reasonable Democrat “migrates an excessive amount of.”
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Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.V., and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (Getty/AP Photograph/Chris Jackson)
“On the finish of the day, Brian, I am not compromised,” he informed Fox Information host Brian Kilmeade.
Justice mentioned he has not taken a authorities wage and drives as a substitute of being chauffeured, characterizing himself as somebody who “by no means needed something for serving” the general public.
“I need goodness for America. I am actually frightened about this nation. And I believe we could possibly be extra fragile than what we predict,” he mentioned. “If we do not be careful… look what is going on on immediately.”
One fixture in Justice’s political and private life is his English bulldog, Babydog. As per customized, Babydog joined Justice throughout his Fox Information interview.
The governor confirmed if elected, Babydog would journey with him to Washington.
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West Virginia Governor Jim Justice poses at his desk together with his pet bulldog, Babydog. (Fox Information Digital/Workplace of Governor Jim Justice)
“She makes individuals smile and she or he loves everyone,” Justice mentioned.
Babydog’s omnipresence has introduced some memorable moments over Justice’s time period, together with when he publicly responded to a harsh criticism of the individuals of his state by left-wing actress Bette Midler.
Midler, who had criticized Manchin for not supporting President Biden’s “Construct Again Higher” plan, mentioned the senator needs everybody to “be like… West Virginia: Poor, illiterate and strung out.”
In response, Justice held up Babydog throughout his 2022 State of the State tackle and mentioned the canine “tells Bette Midler… to kiss her heiney.”
Moreso than 2022, Democrats are fielding many battleground-state races together with Manchin’s seat, in addition to that of Sens. Bob Casey Jr. in Pennsylvania, Jon Tester in Montana, Tim Kaine in Virginia, Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin, Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Debbie Stabenow in Michigan, and Jacky Rosen in Nevada.
