On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump gave his support to West Virginia’s Republican governor, Jim Justice, for the U.S. Senate.
Trump made the announcement via a post on Truth Social; Justice will be opposed in the Republican primary by Rep. Alex Mooney, who declared his candidacy for the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Joe Manchin in November.
“The Great State of West Virginia’s governor, Big Jim Justice (I LOVE WEST VIRGINIA! ), is BIG in all the right ways, but especially in his beautiful HEART.” Trump wrote.
In a hypothetical contest, Justice leads Manchin by 13%, 41% to 28%, according to a new Emerson poll taken from October 1 to 4.
In the same poll, Manchin had a 37% to 31% lead over Mooney.
In July, Justice, a once Democratic politician who joined the Republican Party in 2017, endorsed Trump’s quest for the 2024 presidency.
President Biden’s Justice Department sued his family’s coal enterprises in May for unpaid civil penalties, making a target out of Justice’s family.
Manchin, who narrowly defeated Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrissey in the 2018 election for reelection, has stated that he will decide on his future by the end of the year.
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