West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice won the state’s open Senate seat Tuesday, NBC News projects, bringing Republicans one step closer to shifting the balance of power in the chamber.
Justice faced little competition from Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott, a Democrat, in a race heavily favored by Republicans after the independent senator retired. Joe Manchin, who left the Democratic Party in May.
With Justice’s victory, the GOP would have to flip one more seat to win control of the Senate if Vice President Kamala Harris takes the White House for the Democrats. If former President Donald Trump wins, the GOP is poised to control the Senate unless other seats change hands as the vice president cuts ties in the chamber.
Justice won the gubernatorial election in 2016, the same year Trump won the state by more than 42 percent. At that time, Adalat was nominated from the Democratic Party and defeated his Republican opponent by 7 percent.
He announced that he was leaving the Democratic Party a year later. He stands by Trump at a campaign rally. After handily winning re-election in 2020, speculation has run rampant about whether the term-limited governor will consider a Senate bid in 2024.
With Manchin publicly refusing to run for re-election, Justice began his campaign in 2023. After months of open conflict with his party, Manchin announced that he would not seek re-election.
Although the governor is the pick of the Republican establishment, he faced a primary challenge in the spring from GOP Rep. Alex Mooney, who is backed by the conservative Progressive Caucus. But Justice swept to victory in May, defeating Mooney by 35%, and has faced little political opposition since then.