Jim Justice

James Conley Justice II (born April 27, 1951) is an American coal and agriculture businessman and politician who is the junior United States Senator from West Virginia since 2025. He was the Governor of West Virginia from 2017 to 2025. He is the owner of over 50 companies, including The Greenbrier, a luxury resort. Justice is the only billionaire from the state of West Virginia.

Jim Justice
Jim Justice West Virginia Chamber Business Summit 2024.jpg
Justice in 2024
United States Senator
from West Virginia
Assumed office
January 14, 2025
Preceded byJoe Manchin
36th Governor of West Virginia
In office
January 16, 2017 – January 13, 2025
LieutenantMitch Carmichael
Craig Blair
Randy Smith
Preceded byEarl Ray Tomblin
Succeeded byPatrick Morrisey
Personal details
Born
James Conley Justice II

(1951-04-27) April 27, 1951 (age 73)
Charleston, West Virginia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican (before 2015, 2017–present)
Democratic (2015–2017)
Spouse(s)
Cathy Comer (m. 1975)
Children2
EducationUniversity of Tennessee
Marshall University (BA, MBA)
WebsiteSenate website
Nickname(s)Big Jim[1]

Career

A Republican, Justice ran for Governor of West Virginia in the 2016 general election as the Democratic nominee. He won the general election and became Governor of West Virginia in 2017.[2]

On August 3, 2017, Justice announced at a Trump rally that he was switching political parties becoming a member of the Republican Party.[3]

In April 2023, Justice announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in the 2024 election, against incumbent Democratic Senator Joe Manchin.[4] He won the election in November 2024.

Health

On January 11, 2022, Justice tested positive for COVID-19 and described feeling "extremely unwell".[5] He said that his heart rate and blood pressure were high.[5]

Jim Justice Media

Notes

References

  1. "Big Jim". June 2023. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  2. "Jim Justice wins WV gubernatorial race". Retrieved November 12, 2016.[dead link]
  3. Martin, Jonathan (August 3, 2017). "West Virginia Governor to Switch from Democrat to Republican again". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/03/us/politics/west-virginia-governor-to-switch-from-democrat-to-republican-trump.html?. Retrieved August 3, 2017. 
  4. "West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is running for Joe Manchin's Senate seat". MSN. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  5. 5.0 5.1 "West Virginia governor feels 'extremely unwell' after testing positive for Covid-19 and cancels state legislature address". CNN. January 12, 2022.

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