EXCLUSIVE — Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV) plans to decide on whether to run again for West Virginia governor in a matter of weeks, telling the Washington Examiner that he hopes to make up his mind in “way less” than 30 days.
“We’ll decide in very short order,” he said on Monday evening at the Capitol. “The last thing I’m going to do in the world … is tease people or jerk people around. That’s not Jim Justice. I promise you, I’ll make a decision quickly, and then we’ll go with it.”
If Justice announces a run, it would pit him against Gov. Patrick Morrisey, a Republican in his first term. Justice was heavily recruited to the Senate by Republicans who saw his popularity in West Virginia as potent enough to defeat Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV), a longtime incumbent who gave Senate Democrats a critical foothold in a deep-red state.
Justice, 75, was Morrisey’s immediate predecessor and served two terms until he was sworn into the Senate in early 2025. Manchin, who left the Democratic Party late in his tenure to become an independent, ultimately decided to retire in 2023 rather than face a Justice challenge.
In an interview, Justice, who flies to and from Washington on a private jet, said he was not unhappy with his two years in the Senate.
“No way, no way. This is an amazing part of my life,” he said.
Instead, Justice attributed his “very serious” interest in running for governor to his successes running the state and what he described as a state at risk of sliding backward under Morrisey.
“We had surpluses beyond belief, and we were able to do all kinds of stuff,” Justice said. “I mean, all kinds of stuff for the people. Now, I can’t stand for us not to keep perpetuating that. I mean, that bothers me.”
“And not to think that it’s terrible now,” he added. “I wish the present governor the very, very best of the best of the best. But with all that being said, I really do love our state and our people, and I want goodness for them. That’s all there is to it, and I don’t want us to back up.”
When asked if Morrisey is doing a poor job as governor, Justice replied, “I wouldn’t say that at all.” He said others in West Virginia were “probably not as happy as I think they ought to be.”
Morrisey brushed aside the news that Justice was considering a run earlier this month as the “last thing I want to focus on.”
“I want to deliver. I want to keep delivering on big wins for West Virginia,” he told local reporters. “Helping our families, not playing politics.”
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Justice told the Washington Examiner he plans to speak with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) about his decision, but suggested the discussion was at this point premature.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), his West Virginia colleague, said that Justice was a “good governor” and is a “great senator.”