Gov. Jim Justice and challenger Ben Salango met for their only debate — sometimes chippy — with the incumbent needing to defend his record and the opponent needing to let more voters know what he’s all about.
“My opponent is very, very green,” said Justice, a Republican. He added, “You have seen what I’ve done. You’ve seen what I achieved.”
Salango responded, “We need a governor who actually wants this job.”
And going after the incumbent’s commitment to work, Salango said, “This is a job interview. If you look at Jim Justice’s job performance, no company would hire him.”
The West Virginia Broadcasters Association debate was the only scheduled meeting between Justice and Salango. The debate in Morgantown was moderated by Hoppy Kercheval of MetroNews.
The debate covered topics including handling of the coronavirus, West Virginia’s economy, pay raises for public employees, educational attainment, racial equity and more.
Early voting in West Virginia starts Oct. 21, and Election Day is Nov. 3.
Justice, 69, of Lewisburg is not only the incumbent governor but also owns the historic Greenbrier Resort as well as coal and agriculture holdings. He has been subject of news coverage in West Virginia for years, frequently about his finances, and often references his close relationship with President Donald Trump, who is popular in West Virginia.
Justice was elected governor as a Democrat in 2016 and then switched his registration to Republican in 2017.
Salango, 47, of Charleston is a plaintiffs attorney who has served on the Kanawha County Commission since 2017.
The latest MetroNews West Virginia Poll showed Justice leading Salango by a 53 to 34 percent margin. The poll showed that 37 percent of likely voters aren’t certain of their position on Salango.
Justice characterized his challenger as “just someone who is naive and young and inexperienced.”
Salango noted he’s just a couple of years away from getting his AARP card, “and then when he tells us all to go eat at Bob Evans, I’ll at least get a discount.”
Justice also went after Salango for his work as a trial lawyer, “First and foremost, Ben Salango’s a trial lawyer. He sues people.”
Then, trying to connect Salango to Democrats at the national level, Justice said, “He’s connected at the hip with Nancy Pelosi, AOC, Bernie Sanders.”
There were some sparks over whether Salango would support former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, rather than President Donald Trump, who remains popular in West Virginia.
“Whoever is president of the United States, I’ll be able to work with them,” Salango said.
But Salango was critical of Trump, citing his reported comments about military service members and comments about women.
“President Trump hasn’t earned my vote,” Salango said.
Justice insinuated that Salango had waffled: “I’m glad he took that long to get that out.”
Salango took aim at the many lawsuits that have been filed against Justice’s companies and the $140 million they’ve had to pay in lawsuit settlements and judgments.
“This governor’s been sued over 600 times for not paying his bills,” Salango said. “He actually has more courtroom experience than I do.”
Asked whether he would abide by a constitutional requirement to reside at the seat of government, Justice indicated he will continue to live in Lewisburg and drive to the Capitol — but be dedicated to the work.
“All I do is work,” Justice said.
Salango shot back, “You don’t get to pick and choose which parts of the Constitution you follow.”
The debate began with questions about the coronavirus pandemic, with Justice defending a color-coded map that depicts the spread of virus and determines whether classrooms are open.
“I am so proud of the idea we had to come up with the positivity percentage and test and test and test,” Justice said.
Salango countered that the map has been adjusted to “put politics over public health.”
Salango, though, agreed that a State of Emergency needed to be called and a mask mandate applied. But he said he would not order another shutdown.
“I would not order another shutdown. Our economy cannot take another shut down for small businesses,” Salango said.
Salango also said he would focus more on moving millions of dollars in federal relief out the door. “We need to get the money out,” he said.
West Virginia received $1.25 billion from the federal government and state records show the state has spent $266 million. Justice went over the various ways the money has been allocated.
The debate turned toward West Virginia’s economy, particularly last week’s announcement that Virgin Hyperloop plans to build a center in Grant and Tucker counties.
“If Virgin Hyperloop becomes a reality then absolutely. I’m proud of it,” Salango said.
But he expressed some uncertainty about whether the center would come to fruition, citing economic initiatives like a ballyhooed China deal and a cracker plant that never bore fruit.
Justice, who promised a “rocketship” ride when he ran in 2016 said Hyperloop is the result.
“I promised a rocketship ride and now through incredible hard work, Hyperloop is coming to West Virginia,” he said.
The governor then said, “Ben says I will do, I will do, I will do. But I’ve done it.”
Salango said he has done it in his role as a county commissioner.
“Now let’s take a look at that rocketship ride because quite frankly it doesn’t exist,” Salango said, saying last year’s state budget was balanced largely by transferring millions of dollars in Medicaid reserves.
Justice took credit for pay raises for teachers and millions of dollars to shore up insurance for public employees. Salango said he would call a special session to make sure public employee pay continues to go up.
Justice asked, “Who put the stake in the sand and said ‘make education our centerpiece’?”
Salango responded, “Putting the stake in the sand is different from actually doing it.”
On a question about the Fairness Act, which is intended to ensure equal housing and employment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and asexual/aromantic/
“It’s just another protection for people who have been discriminated against historically,” Salango said.
Justice said society should not discriminate unfairly against anyone. So, “I concur.”