Senator Jim Justice was crystal clear during his appearance on Talkline Thursday from the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s 90th Annual Business Summit.
He has not made a final decision — at least not one he’s willing to share right now — but he is “100 percent” considering a run for governor in 2028.
Not surprising in the least, but still a declaration worthy of attention.
The political lights were turned on over the last few days at the Greenbrier. Insiders were quick to note that the senator was not only actively evaluating his future, but also meeting with many of those gathered at the famed resort — seeking input and, presumably, gauging the extent to which West Virginia’s business community would support another Justice run for governor.
Some of West Virginia’s most influential, powerful and well-resourced people attend the Chamber’s annual meeting each year.
Morrisey is a prolific fundraiser. His political apparatus is second to none. The Club for Growth appears ready to invest in helping him secure a second term. And Morrisey is not one to back away from a fight.
Justice will need significant support from West Virginia’s business community if he is to overcome those resources.
Did he hear what he wanted to hear in some of those private meetings?
Smart money says he probably did.
Justice was on the ground Wednesday, before the Politico story appeared and before his Thursday appearance on Talkline. Had the feedback fallen well short of expectations, one suspects he would have been less vocal about considering a run. Sources might also have been less inclined to talk about it publicly, perhaps leaving Politico without a story and Talkline with a different interview than what occurred.
It wasn’t surprising that Justice didn’t directly answer the first question about his political future. What was more revealing was what happened next.
When pressed, he acknowledged that he is “100 percent” considering a run and then used the question to pivot to what he called West Virginia’s missing “spark” — something he says the state has lost and the business community wants back.
He then doubled down on a fundamental disagreement with Morrisey over economic development: Justice believes West Virginia should be more aggressive in courting companies and, yes, buying jobs, while Morrisey has emphasized what he calls a fundamentals-first strategy.
That is not the response of someone merely entertaining a hypothetical.
It sounds much more like someone deeply interested in running — and leaning toward yes.
Put another way: You don’t rally people, draw contrasts with the incumbent and invite political intrigue if you’re leaning toward staying on the sidelines.
Which brings us back to the “spark.”
Is Justice’s characterization fair? That’s a question best answered by many voices, not one. But consider what happened Thursday.
On the same day West Virginia celebrated the announcement of a $12 billion data center project — an investment that could mean enormous economic benefits for the state — more people created chatter around Justice’s Talkline interview and what he would do than asked me about Project Tamarack.
That is not to diminish SDV’s investment. Far from it. A $12 billion project is of paramount importance and worthy of enormous attention.
But it does tell us something.
If Justice’s argument about a missing “spark” had no resonance — if there were no appetite for the question he is raising or political promise in the strategy he is beginning to articulate — it seems unlikely his potential candidacy could have competed for oxygen with the announcement of an investment roughly four times the size of West Virginia’s annual general revenue budget. The second news of that $12 billion investment hit, the conversation would have died.
It didn’t.
Justice hasn’t announced a campaign and may not until after mid-terms.
But make no mistake: He has started a conversation and many people are talking.
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