Jim Justice facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jim Justice
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Justice in 2024
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| United States Senator from West Virginia |
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| Assumed office January 14, 2025 Serving with Shelley Moore Capito
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| Preceded by | Joe Manchin |
| 36th Governor of West Virginia | |
| In office January 16, 2017 – January 13, 2025 |
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| Lieutenant | Mitch Carmichael Craig Blair Randy Smith |
| Preceded by | Earl Ray Tomblin |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Morrisey |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
James Conley Justice II
April 27, 1951 Charleston, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican (before 2015, 2017–present) Democratic (2015–2017) |
| Spouse |
Cathy Comer
(m. 1975) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Tennessee Marshall University (BA, MBA) |
| Nickname | Big Jim |
James Conley Justice II (born April 27, 1951) is an American businessman and politician. He is set to become a U.S. Senator for West Virginia in 2025. Before this, he served as the 36th governor of West Virginia from 2017 to 2025. Justice inherited a large coal mining business from his father. This included 94 companies and a famous luxury resort called the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs.
In 2015, Justice decided to run for governor. He ran as a Democrat and won the election. Less than seven months after becoming governor, he switched back to the Republican Party. He announced this change at a rally with then-President Donald Trump. In 2020, he was reelected as governor. In 2023, he announced he would run for the U.S. Senate. He won this election in November 2024, becoming the first Republican to win that Senate seat since 1956.
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Early life and education
James Conley Justice II was born in Charleston, West Virginia. His parents were James Conley Justice and Edna Ruth Perry Justice. He grew up in Raleigh County, West Virginia. Justice first went to the University of Tennessee on a golf scholarship. Later, he transferred to Marshall University. At Marshall, he was a two-year captain for the golf team. He earned both his bachelor's degree and his Master of Business Administration from Marshall.
Business career
After college, Jim Justice joined his family's farming business. In 1977, he started Bluestone Farms. This company now manages over 50,000 acres of farmland. It is a top producer of grain on the East Coast of the United States. He also created Stoney Brook Plantation, a large hunting and fishing area in Monroe County. Justice is known for being a seven-time national corn growing champion.
When his father passed away in 1993, Justice took over Bluestone Industries and Bluestone Coal Corporation. In 2009, he sold some of his coal business to a Russian company for $568 million. However, in 2015, he bought the business back for $5 million after coal prices dropped. After buying it back, Justice reopened several mines and hired more than 200 miners.
Justice's mining companies have faced challenges regarding safety and payments. In 2020, some of his family's mining companies agreed to pay $5 million in safety fines.
Forbes magazine estimated Justice's wealth at $513.3 million in October 2021. He owns or leads over 50 companies. One of his most famous businesses is the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. He bought it in 2009 for $20.5 million, which helped save it from going out of business.
Justice has also done a lot of charity work. He gave $25 million for the James C. Justice National Scout Camp. He also donated $5 million to Marshall University and $10 million to the Cleveland Clinic. He started an annual holiday gift drive called "Dream Tree for Kids." This program gives over $1 million in Christmas gifts to children in need.
Before becoming governor, Justice stepped down from his executive roles. He put his daughter Jill in charge of the Greenbrier and his son Jay in charge of his mining and farming businesses. He said he would put all his assets into a blind trust, which means he would not manage them directly. During the COVID-19 pandemic, his family's businesses received government support to help with payroll.
Governor of West Virginia
Elections
2016
In 2015, Justice announced he would run for governor of West Virginia. He ran as a Democrat, even though he had been a registered Republican before. This was his first time running for political office. In May 2016, he won the Democratic nomination. He then ran against Republican candidate Bill Cole in the main election. Justice won the election on November 8. The United Mine Workers union supported him in this election.
2020
In January 2019, Justice announced he would run for reelection. This time, he ran as a Republican. He had changed his party back to Republican after a rally with President Donald Trump in 2017. He won the Republican primary election.
Justice won the election on November 3, 2020, with over 63% of the votes. He defeated Democratic challenger Ben Salango. With this win, he became the first Republican governor of West Virginia to win reelection since Arch A. Moore Jr. in 1976. The West Virginia Coal Association supported Justice, saying he helped protect miners and increase coal production.
Tenure
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Justice became governor on January 16, 2017. He is known for using colorful language when he talks about politics.
To help West Virginia's budget, he suggested raising state income. He proposed increasing the sales tax and bringing back a business tax. He also did not want to cut spending on health and education. On April 13, 2017, he vetoed a budget bill from the state legislature. He said the bill was not good for the state.
On August 3, 2017, Justice announced he had rejoined the Republican Party. He made this announcement at a rally with President Donald Trump in Huntington. Justice said he switched parties because he wanted to support Trump as a Republican. This made him the first Republican governor of West Virginia since 2001.
In 2020, Justice signed a law called the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act. This law made it a serious crime to protest against oil and gas facilities. The natural gas industry supported this law.
U.S. Senate
Elections
2024
In April 2023, Justice announced he would run for the U.S. Senate. He won the Republican nomination, defeating U.S. Representative Alex Mooney. The current Democratic Senator, Joe Manchin, decided not to run for reelection. Justice then defeated Glenn Elliott, the former Democratic mayor of Wheeling, West Virginia, in the general election on November 5.
Tenure
Justice announced that he will finish his term as governor, which ends on January 13, 2025. He will then join the Senate, starting his term a few days later.
Political positions
Jim Justice started his political career as a conservative Democrat. Some people described him as a moderate Democrat. After a few months as governor, he switched to the Republican Party. He then showed strong support for President Donald Trump. Since his switch, some have called him a moderate or liberal Republican.
Economic policy
Justice has always supported the coal industry. He does not support raising taxes generally. However, he has supported increasing teachers' salaries. He believes that more state income will help pay for these increases. In 2017, he said he was against budget cuts and supported raising sales taxes.
In February 2021, Justice encouraged Senator Joe Manchin to vote for a large government spending plan. He said that people were "really hurting" and needed help.
Regarding raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, Justice said it's "really, really hard to say one size fits all." He also said that it's "really, really tough" to live on $7 or $8 an hour. However, he also worried that a very high minimum wage could lead to job losses.
Gun control
Justice supports gun ownership and believes in fewer gun laws. In 2018, he signed a law that allows gun owners to keep their guns locked in their vehicles at work. The NRA supported this law. He also signed a bill that made it legal to hunt on Sundays on private land. In 2023, Justice signed a law that allows people with special permits to carry concealed guns on college campuses.
Healthcare
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Justice supports West Virginia's Medicaid expansion. This program helps more people get health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Justice was against a plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act. He said that the plan "would cripple [West Virginia] beyond belief."
LGBTQ rights
Justice has stated that he respects the Supreme Court's decision that made same-sex marriage legal across the country. He believes it is a settled law. In 2017, he opposed a bill that would have allowed businesses to refuse service to LGBTQ customers. In 2023, Justice signed a law that stops minors from receiving certain types of gender-affirming care.
Environmental policy
Justice has discussed different views on global warming. In 2016, he said there is information that causes concern, but also that more research is needed. He said he wouldn't fully say he believes or doesn't believe in global warming, but he is concerned.
At the start of his second term as governor, Justice said he believes in alternative energy. He welcomed a company to build a wind farm in the state. This will increase West Virginia's wind power by 15%. However, he also said that the nation still needs coal and gas for now. He believes there will be a time when the country moves away from fossil fuels, but he doesn't think that time is now.
COVID-19 vaccine distribution
West Virginia was one of the first states to distribute COVID-19 vaccines quickly. Justice encouraged people in West Virginia to get vaccinated. His slogan was "Do It for Babydog," referring to his pet bulldog.
Personal life
Jim Justice met his wife, Cathy Justice, in high school. They have two children. The Justice family attends First Baptist Church in Beckley. Jim Justice is 6 feet 7 inches tall. He is a big fan of the New Orleans Saints football team. He spent $30 million to build a training camp for the team at the Greenbrier in 2014. He also hosted a professional golf tournament there every year until 2019.
Justice lives in Lewisburg, West Virginia. There was a discussion about whether he should live in the West Virginia Governor's Mansion in Charleston. The state's highest court eventually clarified the rules for where the governor should live. Justice agreed to live in Charleston and paid the legal fees for the person who brought the lawsuit.
Justice owns a female English bulldog named Babydog. She often appears with him at public events, including the 2024 Republican National Convention.
Youth sports
Since 1992, Justice has been the president of Beckley Little League. His involvement has helped the program grow to over 1,000 children playing on 80 teams.
Justice has also been a high school basketball coach. Since 2003, he has coached the girls' basketball team at Greenbrier East High School in Lewisburg. His team won the state championship in 2012. In 2011, he also became the head coach for the boys' basketball team, but he stepped down from that role in 2017. He was the only coach in the state's largest school classification to coach both boys' and girls' teams. Justice said he would continue coaching basketball even after becoming governor. In February 2020, Justice apologized for some comments he made about the girls' basketball players from Woodrow Wilson High School after a game.
Images for kids
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Justice in 2024
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Then-candidate Justice (seated fifth from the left) in Fairmont, West Virginia, in September 2016.
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Justice at his inauguration in January 2017.
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Jim and Cathy Justice with Vice President Mike Pence in March 2017
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Justice posing for a photo with road workers in March 2017.
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Justice speaks with First Lady Melania Trump at an opioids roundtable in Huntington.
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Jim Justice with Babydog, his pet bulldog that often accompanies him
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See also
- List of American politicians who switched parties in office
- List of richest American politicians
- Party switching in the United States
