West Virginia governor dumps Dems

The coal-producing Mountain State, under siege by growth-hating environmentalists

According to The Hill newspaper,

Justice, a coal magnate and the wealthiest man in West Virginia, first won office last year. Before announcing his candidacy, he was wooed by both Democrats and Republicans. Ultimately, he opted to run as a Democrat.

The Democratic Governors Association must be hopping mad. DGA spent more than $1 million to get Justice elected last year. On the other side, the Republican Governors Association spent $3.7 million backing the GOP’s candidate, Bill Cole, who until January was President of the West Virginia Senate. Justice is, The Hill reports, "the only billionaire in West Virginia, [and] the chief executive officer of dozens of companies, many in the coal industry. He also owns the Greenbrier, a luxury resort in the Allegheny Mountains that once served as a bunker meant to help the U.S. government survive a nuclear attack."

Trump took in a staggering 68 percent of the vote in West Virginia

It was bound to happen. The coal-producing Mountain State, under siege by growth-hating environmentalists, has been trending Republican for a long time. Nowadays, West Virginia is no more Democrat than Hawaii is Republican. In the presidential election last November, Trump took in a staggering 68 percent of the vote in West Virginia, crushing Democrat Hillary Clinton by 41 percentage points. Earlier in the day, President Trump gave a big hint about Justice’s approaching defection. “We’re going to have a very big announcement, which will be very exciting I think for the media and everyone else,” he said. “I believe I’ll be making it in West Virginia, so that will be very exciting.”