West Virginia gubernatorial candidates Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Huntington’s Democratic Mayor Steve Williams will debate tonight in Fairmont. The debate will be broadcast over the MetroNews Radio Network with the video stream on the MetroNews TV app and carried on several TV stations in the state.
Morrisey is a heavy favorite to win the governorship, according to the limited polling in the race. This is the only head-to-head debate between the two leading candidates. It would be better for the voters if there were more, and certainly Williams wanted more, but at least Morrisey agreed to one.
That is more than can be said for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Governor Jim Justice. He has refused any debates and presumptively declared himself the winner over Democrat Glenn Elliott.
The MetroNews West Virginia Poll released in August had Justice ahead of Elliott 62 percent to 28 percent. Elliott has been campaigning hard—he even visited all 55 counties—but he remains a relative unknown and a Democrat in a state that is deeply red.
Justice claimed victory well before any votes were cast. “At the end of the day, from a Senate race standpoint and everything, the race is over,” Justice said at a briefing last month. “We’re going to win the race going away.”
There is no reason to believe otherwise. However, would it have hurt Justice to have a debate where voters could have at least had a chance to hear where he stands on important national and international issues like border security and immigration, the economy, Ukraine, Israel, the federal debt, Supreme Court Justice picks, healthcare and prescription drug costs, taxes, energy policy, trade and tariffs? The list goes on and on.
Justice is correct when he says West Virginians know him, and according to our polling, most people like him and believe he has done a good job as Governor. But the role of a United States Senator is nothing like being a Governor. Just ask the retiring Senator and former Governor Joe Manchin about that.
In 2016 Justice, then a Democrat, debated Republican Bill Cole twice in the Governor’s race. Justice switched to the Republican Party during his first term and debated Democrat Ben Salango in the 2020 Governor’s race. Justice did not debate Republican Representative Alex Mooney in the Senate Primary earlier this year and now he’s dodged a General Election debate.
Justice has argued that he is too busy being Governor to debate. “I want to run through the finish line as Governor,” he said. “That’s all there is to it.” However, Justice can find time to campaign for Donald Trump. In fact, Justice is scheduled to appear at a campaign event for Trump tonight in Clarion, Pennsylvania, one of several events he has attended on behalf of Trump.
Political candidates campaign to energize the electorate and attract voters. It is also a show of respect for the voters; you are asking for their support and not taking it for granted. Debates are an important part of the process. They demonstrate the candidate can hold their own and that they have coherent thoughts about often complicated issues.
Justice is acting as though he is entitled to the U.S. Senate seat because, well, he’s Jim Justice and has “done, done it.” He is going to get away with that, even though it is disrespectful to the voters and the election process.