Republican Jim Justice has won West Virginia’s open U.S. Senate race , flipping a key Senate seat, the Associated Press projects.
Justice, 73, has served as West Virginia’s governor since 2017. He was elected as a Democrat, but switched to the Republican Party once in office. A native of Raleigh County, Justice and his family own dozens of companies and are worth upwards of $1.
5 billion, according to Forbes . He has been accused in numerous court claims of being late in paying millions of dollars he owes in debts for family businesses and fines for unsafe working conditions at his coal mines. Justice also owns the financially beleaguered Greenbrier hotel and luxury resort, a 710-room hotel that has hosted U.
S. presidents, royalty, NFL teams, PGA Tour golf tournaments, and congressional retreats. West Virginia Gov.
Jim Justice speaks on stage with his dog, Babydog, on the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 16, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Now, he’s fighting to keep the historic hotel from going up for auction due to unpaid debts. As of Aug.
20, the Justice family hadn’t made contributions to employees’ health fund in months. His family also owns The Greenbrier Sporting Club, a private luxury community with a members-only "resort within a resort." That property was scheduled to be auctioned off this year in an attempt to recover more than $300 million in business loans defaulted by the.