In the end, Jim Justice’s campaign wrapped up about the same way it began, with the candidate sounding a hopeful and optimistic message about West Virginia. That’s what Justice has been selling throughout the campaign and the voters were buying.
Justice captured 49 percent of the vote, compared with 42 percent for Republican Bill Cole and 6 percent for Mountain Party candidate Charlotte Pritt. Justice won 38 of the state’s 55 counties, although he failed to win any of the eastern panhandle.
Justice ran a smart campaign, one focused on his persona more than his politics. He had never run for statewide office before so he avoided the dreaded label of a “politician” and he announced that he would not support Hillary Clinton, or Trump for that matter.
Had Justice been a more entrenched Democratic candidate he probably would have lost, given the popularity of Donald Trump. The Republican presidential candidate captured a stunning 68 percent of the vote here. That likely helped carry some down ballot Republicans across the line.
But based on some of the polling earlier in the campaign, and the outcome of the governor’s race, it’s clear that a good number of voters cast a vote for Trump, crossed over to vote for Justice, then went back over to the Republican side.
All those votes helped carry the GOP to wins in all three Congressional races, four of the five Board of Public Works seats, and expanded the Republicans majority in the Senate by four seats from 18 to 22. In the House, Republicans held their 64-36 advantage.
The outcome more firmly establishes West Virginia as a red state. That could be an issue for the new governor if he were a more traditional Democrat, but he’s not. If you take him at his word, then Justice’s loyalty rests with the people, not a party.
Justice’s campaign was part gospel revival and part medicine show, all delivered with a down-home good ol’ boy style that tempers any suspicions we often have of people with enormous wealth.
He raised expectations, and it’s healthy to expect more from our state and ourselves. But there is also a political risk in setting the bar too high. Justice’s quote about a “rocket ship ride” to more jobs and a better economy stands out. Justice thinks big so he promises a moon shot. That’s not going to be easy.
But West Virginians made clear they wanted someone cut from a different mold, a governor who has a track record in the private sector they believe can be transferred to government. Justice likes to say of his business acumen, “I done done it.”
Well, the state has spoken and said to Mr. Justice, “OK, then go do it.”