Jim Justice has collected almost $1 million before a tough Republican Senate primary in West Virginia.

Gov. Jim Justice Raises Nearly $1 Million in U.S. Senate Campaign

Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) has made a strong entrance into the race for U.S. Senate, raising an impressive $935,035 since announcing his candidacy in late April. With the GOP primary expected to be highly contested, Justice aims to challenge Joe Manchin (D-WV) for his Senate seat in 2024.

The campaign revealed that Justice received contributions from 5,526 individual donors, with 93% of them giving less than $100. It’s worth noting that these funds do not include any personal contributions from Justice himself.

“Gov. Justice has received tremendous support from West Virginians and those who have confidence in his leadership and conservative record of achievements in West Virginia,” said Roman Stauffer, the campaign manager for Jim Justice for U.S. Senate. “In only 64 days, with no prior federal fundraising experience, Gov. Justice raised nearly $1 million and continues to be the strongest Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in West Virginia.”

Justice’s decision to enter the race came after extensive efforts by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Senate Leadership Fund, led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), to recruit the popular term-limited governor. With his wealth as a successful businessman, Justice poses a challenge to the party’s more conservative wing, which has thrown its support behind Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV).

The Justice campaign proudly highlighted that their fundraising total far surpasses Mooney’s previous Senate run, where he raised $505,000 and ended the quarter with nearly $1.4 million on hand. Mooney has garnered support from influential conservative group Club for Growth and has received endorsements from Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Mike Lee (R-UT).

Republicans view the West Virginia Senate race as a crucial opportunity to regain control of the Senate, currently held by Democrats with a slim 51-49 margin. Despite West Virginia leaning more towards the red side in recent years, Manchin has managed to hold onto his seat for 12 years. He is the last Democrat to hold statewide office.

While Manchin has not yet confirmed if he will run for reelection, his campaign ended the first quarter of the year with an impressive $9.7 million, the highest amount among vulnerable senators.

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