Jim Justice forgets about his business struggles and declares himself the winner of the West Virginia Senate

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – More than a month before the Nov. 5 election, Jim Justice declared victory in the Senate race in deeply Republican West Virginia, a punch in the chest at the same time the two-term governor was fighting behind the scenes to keep some of his family businesses in good standing. .

In a state where Donald Trump won every county in the last two presidential elections, Justice crowned himself a runaway successor retiring senator Joe Manchinwhose seat was one of the last lines of defense for Democrats trying to maintain their slim majority.

“I keep saying, judge me by my actions,” Justice told reporters on September 19.

This challenge could have had another meaning, serving as a reminder of the banks, creditors, federal agencies and others who have been hounding Justice for years to pay off his debts, including defaulted loans, late payments and court penalties. He is at risk of exclusion. Early in his administration, the governor was sued for not living in the Governor’s Mansion in Charleston as required by law, and while he was there, his list of accomplishments was not particularly long or noteworthy.

Most recently, Justice’s family repaid the debt obligation to eliminate the threat from the debt collection company to auction off the historic hotel at its Greenbrier resort.

Yet Justice’s boasts were probably justified. A politician with a folk manner and a bulldog named Babydog at his side is in line for a seat that national Democrats largely conceded as soon as Manchin decided not to run again. Republicans made this a major goal, with leaders of both parties coming to believe that even Manchin could not win a third full term as a Democrat in a state that had become one of the most Republican in the country.

Democrats were outspent by Republicans in the race by more than 5 to 1, and Democrat Glenn Elliott received just under $3 million in aid from outside groups, according to AdImpact, which tracks campaign spending data.

Time will tell whether voters will ignore Justice’s baggage. Elliott was surprised by Justice’s public announcement of victory and his refusal to hold a debate. Elliott, former mayor of Wheeling which was endorsed by Manchin before Manchin he switched from the Democratic Party to an independentsaid voters deserved to know more about Justice, including his finances.

“One of the frustrating parts of the campaign is all the issues the governor is dealing with, for whatever reasons, that don’t seem to be getting through to the average voter,” Elliott said.

In declining to participate in the debate, Justice simply stated that he was too busy.

“I want to finish as governor,” he said. “That’s all”.

As Governor, Justice pushed through by income tax cuts and billions for road repairs and construction. He emphasized high state revenue surpluses, job creation and tourism.

But it has been criticized for underfunding public schools and the state’s foster care system, and advocates for low-income residents say it has failed to address the challenges facing the neediest citizens. During the pandemic, some lawmakers have attacked the distribution of Justice Awards to people vaccinated against the coronavirus “wasteful spending.”

West Virginia has one of the highest poverty rates in the United States. This too it lost the highest percentage of residents of any state Over the past decade, the exodus cost her a seat in Congress and continued throughout Justice’s second term, according to U.S. Census Bureau 2023 population estimates.

While it is unclear how far Justice’s family debts go, they predate his time as governor and deprived him of the right to call himself a billionaire.

“I’m surprised that his company commitments and other things haven’t really dampened his popularity,” said Robert Rupp, professor emeritus of political history at West Virginia Wesleyan College.

The lawsuits, filed more than a decade ago, involved unpaid bills or debts owed by the Justice family’s mining businesses in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Just before the 2016 election, Justice’s coal companies owed millions of dollars in back taxes to some of Appalachia’s most impoverished counties. His companies also had multimillion-dollar tax liens from the state of West Virginia.

The challenges have been piling up, peaking this year. Earlier this month, the Justice family said it had settled debts to avoid foreclosure of the Greenbrier Hotel, which has hosted presidents and royals at a resort it bought after bankruptcy in 2009. A Greenbrier union official said in August that the Justice family ‘and was at least $2.4 million in arrears in payments to the employees’ health insurance fund, which threatens employees’ insurance.

Justice who he switched sides seven months after taking office, he repeatedly said that attempts to take over the hotel had ended in failure political revenge. The state Democratic Party said this was “a direct consequence of his own financial incompetence.”

Elliott, eager to spread the word, embarked on a summer tour of all 55 counties. Justice made few stops on the fall campaign, instead announcing economic development and visiting schools, taking Babydog with him.

Elliott said residents should pay attention to who Justice is, “not the one they see on TV with a dog and checks to hand out at various ribbon cuttings.” But the one who doesn’t pay bills and doesn’t pay taxes. He has no respect for the process. He doesn’t show up for work. He believes voters don’t deserve the chance to see him debate and basically takes their votes for granted.”

Justice’s campaign raised $4.3 million compared with about $800,000 for Elliott. Justice stuck to the path he took during the GOP’s easy primary victory over U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney.

Even Justice is amazed at how smooth his ride was.

“I don’t want to say this in a selfish way,” Justice told reporters last month. “I didn’t give any sign in primary school. Think about this for a moment. I didn’t register once and I won by 35 points. The people of this state know me. They know me and they know me really well. I had almost zero campaigning.

“From the standpoint of the Senate race and all that, the Senate race is over. We will win the race and we will win the race away.”