CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) 鈥� Jim Justice won a U.S. Senate race from West Virginia on Tuesday, flipping a seat to the Republican Party after Joe Manchin .
Justice, who boldly predicted victory long before the election, defeated Democrat Glenn Elliott, a lawyer and former mayor of the city of Wheeling who .
Justice compared his victory to when a 22-year-old Cassius Clay knocked out Sonny Liston for boxing鈥檚 world heavyweight championship in 1964, then declared, 鈥淚 shook up the world.鈥�
At his posh Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, Justice said in a victory speech that the political climate in Washington, D.C., is 鈥渃ompletely dysfunctional鈥� and 鈥渋f you were to come to Jim Justice and say, 'What do you want to do?' And I would say, 鈥業 want to shake up the world.鈥� That鈥檚 exactly what I want to do.鈥�
The 73-year-old Justice, who is finishing his second term as governor, continued taking advantage of former President Donald Trump鈥檚 popularity in ruby red West Virginia. Trump won the presidential race in the state by 42 percentage points in 2016 and 39 points in 2020. Justice was elected governor as a Democrat in 2016, then switched to the GOP seven months after entering office, to make the announcement.
A former billionaire, Justice and his family own dozens of businesses, including the Greenbrier. Justice spent considerable time as governor that sought late payments and fines for his personal businesses.
This will mark the first time since 1958 that both of West Virginia鈥檚 U.S. senators are Republicans. The other is Shelley Moore Capito, who was elected to a second term in 2020.
鈥淵ou may say to me, 鈥榃hy in the world would you do this? Have you lost your mind?鈥� That鈥檚 probably a very, very good assumption,鈥� Justice said.
In concluding his 10-minute speech, he again said, "Why is Jim Justice doing this? Why are there people that have stood up for this nation and done this? And it鈥檚 one thing. Because we鈥檙e worth it. We in this great country are worth it.鈥�
More than a month before the election, Justice declared himself the winner and said he saw no need to debate Elliott. Justice pointed out that he easily won his primary over U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney despite not putting up any campaign signs.
Name recognition was key for one voter, Vickie Lanham. When asked why she picked Justice for Senate, the resident of the Charleston suburb of Cross Lanes replied: 鈥淗onestly the name, because it was familiar,鈥� and said Justice had done a good job as governor.
While Elliott embarked on a tour of all 55 counties this summer, Justice conducted few campaign stops, instead making economic development announcements in his capacity as governor, , Babydog. Justice also mixed in political talk during his weekly online media briefings, often criticizing President Joe Biden鈥檚 policies.
William Harmon, a retiree from Hurricane, voted for Justice while wearing a golf shirt with the logo from the governor鈥檚 resort. But Harmon wasn鈥檛 sold on his job performance, saying Justice would need to be more focused if he gets to the Senate.
鈥淚鈥檓 not a big Justice fan, frankly,鈥� Harmon said. 鈥淗e carries that dog around with him everywhere.鈥�
Justice continuously fended off questions about the handling of his businesses. A credit collection company The Greenbrier Resort鈥檚 hotel unless payments were made on a defaulted loan. And the family had at least $2.4 million in missing contributions for about 400 hotel employees鈥� health insurance.
The 710-room Greenbrier hotel has hosted U.S. presidents, royalty and congressional retreats. It held a PGA Tour golf tournament from 2010 until 2019 and for training camps and practices. A once-secret 112,000-square-foot (10,080-square-meter) underground bunker built for Congress at the Greenbrier in case of nuclear attack during the Cold War now hosts tours.
In addition, Justice has been accused of being late in paying millions in and court fines for .
Some financial issues go back to before Justice became governor. In 2016, he to some of Appalachia鈥檚 most impoverished counties, including one in Kentucky that was struggling to pay the debt on a new rec center and turned the lights off in its parks and reduced hot meals for senior citizens.
In 2021, Justice by a former lawmaker over his residency by agreeing to live in the seat of state government in Charleston. The suit was brought after bipartisan criticism that Justice lived 100 miles (160 kilometers) away in Lewisburg, close to his resort in White Sulphur Springs.
Manchin, who has been in office since 2010, chose not to run again a year ago and earlier this year. Before he changed parties, Manchin was the only Democrat holding statewide office.
Elliott, 52, once served as a legislative assistant to . Manchin praised Elliott鈥檚 record as mayor of creating jobs, lowering the crime rate and revitalizing the downtown of the city of around 26,000 on the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
Courtney Ruppert, a teacher from Cross Lanes, voted for Elliott and said she didn鈥檛 like most of Justice鈥檚 policies as governor 鈥� especially in education.
鈥淗e did not do a whole lot for us, although he said he was going to,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel like he doesn鈥檛 have much of a backbone, unfortunately.鈥�
Public school teacher salaries in West Virginia are among the lowest in the nation despite earlier this year.
One important issue to Charleston court reporter Chassidy Bays was reproductive rights. She said she couldn鈥檛 vote for someone who supported the near-total abortion ban that in September 2022.
鈥淗istorically, we (women) have been treated like property and garbage and that needs to stop,鈥� Bays said.
John Raby, The Associated Press
