West Virginia Gov Jim Justice Is Switching Parties Again

President Trump talks with Due west Virginia Gov. Jim Justice before Justice spoke during a rally Thursday in Huntington, W.Va. Justice said at the rally that he intends to switch parties and rejoin the Republicans. Darron Cummings/AP hide caption

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Darron Cummings/AP

President Trump talks with Westward Virginia Gov. Jim Justice earlier Justice spoke during a rally Thursday in Huntington, Westward.Va. Justice said at the rally that he intends to switch parties and rejoin the Republicans.

Darron Cummings/AP

Updated at 9:30 p.m. ET

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice announced he will flip from the Democratic Political party to the GOP, making the proclamation Thursday night while appearing at a rally with the president.

"Today I will tell you with lots of prayers and lots of thinking, I'll tell y'all West Virginians, I can't help y'all whatever more existence a Democrat governor," Justice said.

"The Democrats walked away from me," the governor argued, and reflected that his tardily mother, who was a big fan of onetime President Ronald Reagan, was looking down on him thinking, "Jimmy, it'southward virtually damn time you came to your senses."

Trump had teased "a very big announcement" during the Huntington, W.Va., rally and the New York Times was first to report that Justice's political party switch would be the major reveal.

Showtime elected concluding Nov as a conservative Democrat, Justice is a billionaire coal and existent estate man of affairs who has drawn comparisons to Trump. He has identified every bit a Republican and an independent in the past, and he declined to endorse Autonomous presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016.

On Thursday, Justice enthusiastically threw his support behind the president, saying he had already visited him at the Oval Part to talk almost coal and manufacturing jobs. He praised Trump's children, noting he's gone hunting with his sons, and said, like him, the president isn't a politician.

"This man is a good homo," Justice said. "He'south got a backbone. He'due south got existent ideas. He cares most America. He cares nearly us in Due west Virginia."

Trump heralded Justice's decision as evidence that "our agenda rises above left or right."

Justice's switch means Republicans at present have command of a record 34 governorships — tying a record set most a century ago in 1922 — and gives the GOP complete control of country government in 26 states.

The terminal high-profile party-switch — Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's 2009 flip from Republican to Democrat — was the effect of a lengthy courtship process from top-level Democrats. That wasn't the example here.

West Virginia Republicans were caught completely off-guard. Underscoring that fact: state Republican Chairman Conrad Lucas was out of the country on his honeymoon when the party learned of Justice's conclusion.

"Nosotros are very cognizant of the fact that nosotros have criticized him greatly in the past for his various policy positions and the mode he has conducted his businesses," Lucas told NPR. "However all that conduct was done while he was a Democrat. Today he'due south a Republican so we expect forward to moving forrard."

Indeed, West Virginia Republicans were criticizing Justice as recently as before Thursday, when the political party tweeted out a story critical of him.

At the time of the switch, the land party website was filled with anti-Justice printing releases and posts. "The upstanding problems of this administration will before long become obvious," the state GOP said in a press release just a few weeks ago.

In February, they called Justice a "deadbeat" for all the same owing $4.4 million in dorsum taxes.

Lucas however sounded a bit wary Thursday night. "We will treat him as a member of our political party, but we expect him to human action as a member of our party," he said.

National Republicans cheered the move. Republican Governors Association Chairman and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said in a statement that "we're thrilled that Governor Jim Justice wants to bring together our efforts. On behalf of our nation'southward Republican governors, we welcome Governor Justice to the RGA, and expect frontward to working with him to advance conservative principles and strengthen W Virginia."

Notwithstanding, national Democrats — who were not informed near Justice's decision earlier the news leaked — were quick to point out that Republicans spent enough of time attacking Justice when he was their opponent. Alee of the announcement, the W Virginia Republican Party's website was headlined by multiple anti-Justice posts.

"Jim Justice deceived the voters of West Virginia when he ran equally a Democrat viii months ago," Democratic Governors Association Executive Director Elisabeth Pearson said in a statement. "West Virginians have learned that they simply can't trust Jim Justice. He will always put his fiscal interests to a higher place the needs of Due west Virginians.

"As Republicans have repeatedly said, Jim Justice owes millions of dollars in unpaid visitor taxes, after a deal with a Russian coal company," Pearson continued. "The debts accept just worsened during Justice'south term equally governor. If President Trump cut a bargain, nosotros hope it does non put U.S. taxpayers on the hook to bail out Jim Justice's personal finances."

While the Backwoodsman State has been historically Democratic, the country has moved to the correct on the federal level, especially in recent years. West Virginia gave Trump i of his largest margins of victory in November, winning the state by almost 42 points.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West.Va., also a conservative and a erstwhile governor, is expected to face a tough re-election race next twelvemonth. At that place has been speculation that Manchin might as well switch parties or bring together the Trump Cabinet, simply Manchin's spokesman knocked downward both those rumors to the Times.

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Source: https://www.npr.org/2017/08/03/541460116/west-virginia-governor-expected-to-switch-to-gop-at-trump-rally

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