Jim Justice | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2025 | |
| United States Senator fromWest Virginia | |
| Assumed office January 14, 2025 Serving with Shelley Moore Capito | |
| Preceded by | Joe Manchin |
| 36thGovernor of West Virginia | |
| In office January 16, 2017 – January 13, 2025 | |
| Lieutenant | Mitch Carmichael Craig Blair Randy Smith |
| Preceded by | Earl Ray Tomblin |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Morrisey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Conley Justice II (1951-04-27)April 27, 1951 (age 74) |
| Political party | Republican (2017–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Tennessee Marshall University (BA,MBA) |
| Occupation |
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| Signature |  |
| Website | Senate website Campaign website |
| Nickname | Big Jim[3] |
Justice marks the 23rd anniversary of theSeptember 11 attacks. Recorded September 11, 2024 | |
James Conley Justice II[4] (born April 27, 1951) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2025 as thejuniorUnited States senator fromWest Virginia. A member of theRepublican Party, he served from 2017 to 2025 as the 36thgovernor of West Virginia. Justice was once a billionaire, but his net worth had declined to $664.2 million as of 2025.[5] He inherited a coal mining business from his father that included 94 companies.[6][7] He and his family ownthe Greenbrier, a luxury resort andNational Historic Landmark inWhite Sulphur Springs.[8]
In 2015, Justice announced his candidacy for governor in2016. Although a registeredRepublican before running for governor, he ran as aDemocrat and defeated the Republican nominee,Bill Cole. Less than seven months after taking office, Justiceswitched back to the Republican Party after announcing his plans at a rally with PresidentDonald Trump in the state. He was reelected in2020.
Justice was elected to the Senate in2024, winning the seat previously held byJoe Manchin. DefeatingU.S. representativeAlex Mooney in the primary and the Democratic nominee, formerWheeling mayor Glenn Elliott, in the general election, Justice became the first Republican to win that seat since1956.[9]
James Conley Justice II was born to James Conley Justice and Edna Ruth (née Perry) Justice inCharleston, West Virginia. He grew up inRaleigh County, West Virginia, graduating fromWoodrow Wilson High School inBeckley in 1969.[10][11] He enrolled at theUniversity of Tennessee on anathletic scholarship forgolf but transferred toMarshall University. At Marshall, he was a two-year captain on theThundering Herd golf team.[12] He earned hisbachelor's degree andMaster of Business Administration from Marshall.[13]
After college, Justice went into the family agriculture business.[13] He founded Bluestone Farms in 1977, which now operates 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) of farmland, and is the leading producer of grain on theEast Coast of the United States. During that time, he also developed Stoney Brook Plantation, a 15,000-acre hunting and fishing preserve inMonroe County. Justice is a seven-time national corn growing champion.[14] After his father's death in 1993, Justice inherited ownership of Bluestone Industries and Bluestone Coal Corporation. In 2009, he sold some of his coal business to the Russian companyMechel for $568 million. In 2015, after a huge drop in the price of coal led Mechel to close some of the mines, he bought the business back for $5 million.[15][16] Since buying back the mine from Mechel, Justice reopened several of the mines and hired over 200 miners.[17]
As of 2014, Justice owned 70 active mines in five states. His charitable activities included $25 million for the James C. Justice National Scout Camp atSummit Bechtel Reserve, $5 million forMarshall University, and $10 million to theCleveland Clinic.[18][19]
Justice's mining companies have been scrutinized for alleged cases of safety violation and unpaid taxes; in 2016,NPR called him the nation's "top mine safety delinquent".[20] Justice allegedly owed millions of dollars to the government in back taxes and unpaid coal mining fees and fines.[21] Two debt-related lawsuits were settled in 2019,[22] and in 2020 mining companies Justice or his family owned agreed to pay $5 million in delinquent safety fines.[23]
Before taking office as governor, Justice resigned from all the executive positions he held. He placed his daughter Jill in charge of the Greenbrier and his son Jay in charge of his mining and agriculture businesses. He said he would place all his assets in ablind trust, but that the process would take time because of their complexity.[24][25]
During the 2020COVID-19 pandemic, Justice and his family's businesses received between $11 million and $24 million in aid through thePaycheck Protection Program.[26] His luxury resort, the Greenbrier Hotel Corporation, received a loan of between $5 million and $10 million. The company did not promise to retain any jobs in exchange for the loan, which the Greenbrier would have to repay if it did not use at least 60% of the funds for payroll.[26]
According to a 2020ProPublica investigation, Justice had paid more than $128 million in judgments and settlements over his businesses' unpaid bills.[27][26] In October 2023, a federal court ordered theU.S. Marshals Service to seize and sell a helicopter the company owned to pay an $8 million judgment granted to a creditor.[28]
Forbes estimated Justice's net worth at $513.3 million in October 2021.[29][30] By January 2025,Forbes reported that Justice's net worth had fallen to below 0 due to having over $1 billion in debt.[31][32] Justice serves as the owner orchief executive officer of over 50 companies, includingthe Greenbrier inWhite Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, which he bought for $20.5 million in 2009, preventing itsbankruptcy.[15]
In 2015, Justice declared his candidacy forgovernor of West Virginia in the2016 election as a member of theDemocratic Party.[15] He had been a registered member of theRepublican Party until changing his registration in February 2015.[33] This was his first time running for political office.[34] Justice was endorsed by theUnited Mine Workers.[35] In May 2016, Justice won the Democratic nomination for governor.
During the general election campaign, Justice campaigned on improving the state's track record on education, encouraging the continued usage of coal, increasing tourism, and tackling the budget deficit and the opioid crisis.[36][37][38] He refused to endorseHillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president inthat year's presidential election, citing her stance on phasing out coal energy.[39]
Justice defeated Republican nomineeBill Cole in the November general election.[40][41][42]
In January 2019, Justice declared his candidacy for reelection.[43] This time, he ran as a Republican, having changed his party registration after a 2017 rally with PresidentDonald Trump. He defeated multiple challengers in the Republican primary.[44]
In the general election campaign, Justice focused on his COVID-19 response, the state's budget surplus, and his work on the substance abuse crisis.[45] Several polls had him leading by a large margin overKanawha County commissioner Ben Salango in the months preceding Election Day.[46] On November 3, 2020, he defeated Salango[45] with over 63% of the vote to Salango's 30%. With his win, he became the first West Virginian Republican gubernatorial candidate to win sinceCecil Underwood in1996 and the first GOP incumbent to win a second term sinceArch A. Moore Jr. in1972.
TheUnited Mine Workers endorsed Salango after having endorsed Justice in 2016, but Justice was endorsed by the businessmen's association West Virginia Coal Association, which said he had "worked to protect the miners, increase coal production, and explore innovative ways to use coal for new products and downstream job opportunities".[47]
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Justice took office as governor on January 16, 2017. He is known for using colorful metaphors and digs at political opponents.[48][49]
To improve West Virginia's budget situation, he has proposed raising the state's revenue by $450 million, primarily by increasing the consumer sales tax, reinstituting thebusiness and occupation (B & O) tax, and establishing a "rich man's" tax.[50] He also opposed plans to cut health and education spending.[51] On April 13, 2017, while vetoing a budget bill passed by theWest Virginia legislature, Justice said the bill was "nothing more than a bunch of political you-know-what" and showed a prop featuring cow manure on a print copy of the bill.[52]
On August 3, 2017, Justice announced that he had rejoined the Republican Party. He made the announcement at a rally hosted by PresidentDonald Trump inHuntington and also confirmed his support for Trump. Justice said he was returning to the GOP because he could not support Trump as a member of the Democratic Party. The announcement came as a surprise to his own staff.[53] This also made Justice the first Republican governor of West Virginia sinceCecil Underwood in 2001.
Even after switching to the Republican Party, Justice initially supported incumbent DemocratJoe Manchin for reelection in the2018 Senate election in West Virginia.[54] Later in the general election, Justice endorsed Republican Senate candidatePatrick Morrisey.[55] In February 2021, when asked byThe New York Times whether he planned to run against Manchin, Justice said, "No, I'm really not . . . [i]f I can continue to do good stuff for West Virginia, I'm going to do it, and then probably fade off into the sunset."[56]
In 2020, Justice signed into law the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act, which createdfelony penalties for protests targeting oil and gas facilities. The law, which was passed with the support ofDominion Energy, the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association, and theAmerican Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers trade association, was described by its sponsorJohn Kelly as having been "requested by the natural gas industry".[57]
In 2021, Justice appointedBray Cary to theWest Virginia University board of directors. He later received loans from Cary, which he described as a "business relationship" in a press conference.[31]
In April 2023, Justice announced his candidacy for the2024 United States Senate election in West Virginia.[58] Justice defeated U.S. RepresentativeAlex Mooney for the Republican nomination with 61 percent of the vote. The Democratic incumbent,Joe Manchin, did not run for reelection. Justice defeatedGlenn Elliott, the former Democratic mayor ofWheeling, West Virginia, in the November 5 general election.[59][60]
On December 26, 2024, Justice announced that he would complete his gubernatorial term, which ended on January 13, 2025, before joining the Senate, reducing his Senate term by 10 days. He was sworn in on January 14 bySenate President pro temporeChuck Grassley.[61]
Justice missed the first roll-call vote of his Senate tenure, on an amendment to theLaken Riley Act.[62] When PresidentDonald Trump announced across-the-board tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China in January 2025, Justice applauded the move, saying, "Everybody runs through the streets saying, 'The sky is falling! The sky is falling!', but it doesn't fall."[63]
On the fifteenth day of the2025 US government shutdown, Justice hosted a birthday party for his bulldogBabydog inside theCapitol[64]
For the 119th Congress:[65]
Justice began his gubernatorial campaign and political career as aconservative Democrat.[66][67]Time identified him as amoderate Democrat.[68] He switched to theRepublican Party a few months after taking office and declared his support for PresidentDonald Trump,[69] to whose reelection campaign he contributed $200,000.[70] Since his switch, Justice has been described as amoderate orliberal Republican by his2024 primary opponentAlex Mooney and by Sam Brodey, writing forThe Daily Beast.[71][72]
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Justice campaigned and has governed with support for the coal industry.[73] He opposes raising taxes but has supported increasing teachers' salaries, arguing that increased state revenue will pay for the increased budget spending.[74] In 2017, Justice said that he opposed budget cuts and supported raising sales taxes.[75] ThelibertarianCato Institute gave Justice an "F" grade based on their positions, but Justice voiced his disagreement with the grade.[76] Before Justice switched from a Democrat to a Republican, Senate presidentMitch Carmichael called him "more Republican in his philosophies", saying, "where he has gotten away from that a little bit is his tax-and-spend policies".[77]
In February 2021, Justice urged SenatorJoe Manchin to vote for the $1.9 trillionstimulus package proposed by PresidentJoe Biden, warning against being "fiscally responsible" and adding, "I don't really know exactly what the thinking could possibly be there. I mean, we got people that are really hurting."[56][78]
Ofproposals to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, Justice said, "it's really, really hard to say one size fits all" nationwide. He added, "to be able to make it on 7 or 8 dollars an hour, that's really, really tough", while also expressing concern that too high a minimum wage could lead to unemployment.[79]
Justice had said that he opposesabortion, but that the Supreme Court had decided the issue.[80] Later, he attended a rally supporting Amendment 1, a state constitutional amendment banning abortion onceRoe v. Wade was overturned.[81][82] In September 2022, afterRoe v. Wade was overturned, Justice signed into law a bill banning abortion at any stage of pregnancy, with exceptions for medical emergencies and victims of rape or incest.[83] He has said that he stood "rock solid for life" as governor.[84]
Justice supports gun ownership and limited gun laws. In 2018, while Governor of West Virginia, he signed into a law a bill allowing gun owners to keep their guns locked in vehicles on their employers' property, a bill theNational Rifle Association (NRA) supported.[85] He also signed a bill legalizing hunting on Sundays on private land.[86] On March 1, 2023, Justice signed into law a bill legalizingcampus carry for those withconcealed carry permits.[87]
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Justice supports West Virginia'sMedicaid expansion, which was implemented by the previous governor under theAffordable Care Act (Obamacare).[88] Justice opposed theAmerican Health Care Act, a GOP House bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, saying that the bill "would cripple [West Virginia] beyond belief."[89]
Justice has said that he respects the Supreme Court's decision inObergefell v. Hodges, which legalizedsame-sex marriage nationwide, and that it is settled law.[90] In 2017, he opposed a bill that would have allowed businesses to refuse service to LGBTQ customers.[91] In 2023, Justice signed legislation prohibitinggender-affirming care for minors.[92] In 2024, Justice said he would need to review and "see the bill" before committing to sign the Fairness Act, legislation that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment and customer service industries, but added, "if you're lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, you're welcome to come to West Virginia" and participate in the state's economy.[93] Justice had said he would support similar legislation, also called the Fairness Act, in 2020.[94] He has said that he "proudly" signed the 2021 law prohibiting transgender athletes from competing in West Virginia.[84]
According to theCharleston Gazette–Mail, Justice has equivocated on the scientific consensus onglobal warming. In a 2016 interview with the paper, he said: "There's documentation that would give one concern, and I don't think you should ignore that. At the same time, I think there's an awful lot of research that still should be done . . . I surely wouldn't sit here and say I am a believer in global warming, but I wouldn't sit here and say that I am not concerned."[14]
At the beginning of his second term as governor, Justice said he was a believer inalternative energy, pointing to his welcoming of Clearway Energy Group to begin construction of awind farm, which will increasestate wind power by 15%.[56][95] But he added, "it is frivolous for us to think that today our nation can go forward without coal or without gas. There will be a day we transition away fromfossil fuels. But I frankly don't believe that it is now."[56]
Despite being one of the poorest states in the nation, West Virginia was, early on, second only toAlaska in vaccine distribution forCOVID-19. Since then, it has lagged behind much of the nation.[96][97] Justice encouraged West Virginians to get vaccinated with the slogan "Do It forBabydog", referring to his dog.[98]
Justice sometimes expressed frustration with his state's Republican-majority legislature for being too extreme, and in 2024 he vetoed a bill to curb vaccination requirements for nontraditional public school students.[84] He acquired nationwide fame during theCOVID-19 pandemic for promoting vaccination against the disease in accordance with the advice of medical experts.[99]
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Justice met his wife,Cathy Justice (née Comer) in high school.[100] They have two children.[13][101] Justice and his wife are members of First Baptist Church inBeckley, a congregation of theAmerican Baptist Churches USA.[10][102][103] He is 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) tall and 368 pounds (167 kg).[104][105] Justice is a lifelong fan of theNew Orleans Saints of theNational Football League, and spent $30 million to develop atraining camp for the team to use in 2014 at the Greenbrier.[15][29] Until 2019, he hosted theGreenbrier Classic, aPGA Tour event, at the Greenbrier annually.[15]
Justice lives inLewisburg, West Virginia. He was sued about his residency by former state house assistant minority whipIsaac Sponaugle on the basis that Justice did not live in theWest Virginia Governor's Mansion in Charleston. The state constitution requires the governor to "reside at the seat of government", Charleston. The lawsuit was eventually put before theWest Virginia State Supreme Court, which denied a motion for awrit of prohibition. Chief JusticeEvan Jenkins defined "reside" in terms of statewide officeholders. On March 2, Justice resolved the lawsuit, agreeing to reside in Charleston and paying Sponaugle's legal fees.[106]
Justice owns a femaleEnglish bulldog namedBabydog who has often appeared alongside him at public engagements, including at the2024 Republican National Convention.[107]
Since 1992, Justice has been president of Beckley Little League.[108]
Justice has been the girls' basketball coach atGreenbrier East High School inFairlea, West Virginia, since 2003, winning the state championship in 2012. In 2011, he also became the head coach of the boys' basketball teams, a position from which he stepped down in 2017.[109][110] He was the only coach at the AAA level (the state's largest classification) to coach both the girls' and boys' basketball teams. Justice said that though he would put his business interests in ablind trust upon becoming governor, he would still coach basketball.[111][112] He coached the girls' team through his two terms as governor and has remained the coach since being elected to the U.S. Senate.[113][114]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jim Justice | 132,704 | 51.37% | |
| Democratic | Booth Goodwin | 65,416 | 25.32% | |
| Democratic | Jeff Kessler | 60,230 | 23.31% | |
| Total votes | 258,350 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jim Justice | 350,408 | 49.09% | |
| Republican | Bill Cole | 301,987 | 42.30% | |
| Mountain | Charlotte Pritt | 42,068 | 5.89% | |
| Libertarian | David Moran | 15,354 | 2.15% | |
| Constitution | Phil Hudok | 4,041 | 0.57% | |
| Total votes | 713,858 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Justice (incumbent) | 127,445 | 63.0% | |
| Republican | Woody Thrasher | 37,019 | 18.3% | |
| Republican | Michael Folk | 24,896 | 12.3% | |
| Republican | Doug Six | 4,231 | 2.1% | |
| Republican | Brooke Lunsford | 3,675 | 1.8% | |
| Republican | Shelly Jean Fitzhugh | 2,560 | 1.3% | |
| Republican | Chuck Sheedy | 2,415 | 1.2% | |
| Total votes | 202,241 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Justice (incumbent) | 497,944 | 63.49% | ||
| Democratic | Ben Salango | 237,024 | 30.22% | ||
| Libertarian | Erika Kolenich | 22,527 | 2.87% | ||
| Independent | S. Marshall Wilson (write-in) | 15,120 | 1.93% | ||
| Mountain | Daniel Lutz | 11,309 | 1.44% | ||
| Write-in | 363 | 0.05% | |||
| Total votes | 784,287 | 100.00% | |||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Justice | 138,307 | 61.84% | |
| Republican | Alex Mooney | 59,348 | 26.54% | |
| Republican | Bryan Bird | 7,001 | 3.13% | |
| Republican | Bryan McKinney | 6,573 | 2.94% | |
| Republican | Zane Lawhorn | 4,517 | 2.02% | |
| Republican | Janet McNulty | 4,404 | 1.97% | |
| Republican | Don Lindsay | 3,503 | 1.57% | |
| Total votes | 223,653 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Justice | 514,079 | 68.75% | +22.49% | |
| Democratic | Glenn Elliott | 207,548 | 27.76% | −21.81% | |
| Libertarian | David Moran | 26,075 | 3.49% | −0.68% | |
| Write-in | 15 | 0.00% | N/A | ||
| Total votes | 747,717 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Republicangain fromIndependent | |||||
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee for Governor of West Virginia 2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee for Governor of West Virginia 2020 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Patrick Morrisey | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromWest Virginia (Class 1) 2024 | Most recent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Earl Ray Tomblin | Governor of West Virginia 2017–2025 | Succeeded by Patrick Morrisey |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | United States Senator (Class 1) from West Virginia 2025–present Served alongside:Shelley Moore Capito | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | Order of precedence of the United States as United States Senator | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States senators by seniority 98th | |
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