Jim Justice holds strong lead over Alex Mooney in battle for Manchin seat: Poll
Eden Villalovas
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Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) maintains a considerable lead over his Republican competition in the Senate race in West Virginia.
As the 2024 West Virginia Senate primary draws near, Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) and Justice are the two biggest threats to unseat incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).
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Voters favored Justice with 58% of the support in the GOP primary for Senate and Mooney had 26% support, according to a new poll from West Virginia MetroNews. Sixteen percent of Republican voters were unsure of who to support.
Justice jumped into the West Virginia Senate race in April, making a possible bid against Manchin, who has yet to announce his reelection campaign amid talks of a third-party presidential run. Manchin has said he’ll make his decision on whether or not to run by late this year or early 2024.
“We all know from following Joe Manchin’s career over the years that he can be and has historically been a strong candidate,” Rex Repass, the president of Research America (which conducted the poll), said. “He is well-known, and I would expect that if that is the race it would tighten up considerably. But certainly Jim Justice has, at this early date, an advantage.”
In a general-election matchup against Manchin, Justice holds 51% of the likely votes, while Manchin sits at 38%. A matchup between Mooney and Manchin revealed a narrow race with 45% of voters reporting their support for Manchin, compared to 41% for Mooney.
Mooney launched his campaign in November. He claims Justice has liberal-leaning policies and urges voters to support a traditional conservative such as himself.
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Justice, once a Democrat, endorsed former President Donald Trump for the GOP’s 2024 nomination for president in July. The former president is likely to support him in the Senate race after reportedly telling Mooney his loyalty lies with Justice, according to CNN. Trump has given his endorsement to both candidates in past elections.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the two-term governor earlier this year for owing fines due to violations at his coal companies in recent years.