Republican Jim Justice on Tuesday defeated his Democratic rival in the U.S. Senate race in West Virginia for Joe Manchin 's seat.
In November 2023, Manchin announced he would retire and not seek reelection. Manchin was a long-time Democrat until he left the party in May 2024 to become an independent, though he has continued to caucus with the Democrats . Manchin endorsed the Democratic candidate for his seat, Glenn Elliott, who once served as mayor of the city of Wheeling.
However, Justice, who is in his second term as the governor of West Virginia, beat Elliott so that both of West Virginia's senators will be Republicans for the first time since 1958. (The other senator, Shelley Moore Capito, won a second term in 2020.) After the senate race in West Virginia was called for Justice, the governor celebrated the victory with a message posted on X (formerly Twitter ).
"We did it, West Virginia! Thank you for your incredible support!" he wrote. "I'm honored to be your next U.S.
Senator. Together, we will fight for our values and build a brighter future for our state and nation." Justice was confident in his chances of a win long before voters turned up to the polls on Tuesday.
He opted out of debating Elliott, saying in September that "the race is over," and "we're going to win the race." "The people of this state know me," Justice said during a press briefing on September 19. "They know me, and they know me really well.
" The governor also made few campaign stops during the race,.