1. James Conley Justice II was born on April 27,1951 and is an American politician and businessman serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from West Virginia.
48 Facts About Jim Justice
1. 2.
Jim Justice inherited a coal mining business from his father that included 94 companies.
3.
In 2015, Jim Justice announced his candidacy for governor in the 2016 West Virginia gubernatorial election.
4.
Less than seven months after taking office, Jim Justice switched back to the Republican Party after announcing his plans at a rally with President Donald Trump in the state.
5.
Jim Justice became the Republican nominee on May 14,2024, after defeating outgoing US representative Alex Mooney in the primary.
6.
Jim Justice defeated the Democratic nominee, former Wheeling mayor Glenn Elliott, in the general election, becoming the first Republican to win that seat since 1956.
7.
Jim Justice grew up in Raleigh County, West Virginia, graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley in 1969.
8.
Jim Justice enrolled at the University of Tennessee on an athletic scholarship for golf but transferred to Marshall University.
9.
Jim Justice earned his bachelor's degree and Master of Business Administration from Marshall.
10.
Jim Justice founded Bluestone Farms in 1977, which now operates 50,000 acres of farmland, and is the leading producer of grain on the East Coast of the United States.
11.
Since buying back the mine from Mechel, Jim Justice reopened several of the mines and hired over 200 miners.
12.
Jim Justice allegedly owed millions of dollars to the government in back taxes and unpaid coal mining fees and fines.
13.
Jim Justice placed his daughter Jill in charge of the Greenbrier and his son Jay in charge of his mining and agriculture businesses.
14.
Jim Justice said he would place all his assets in a blind trust, but that the process would take time because of their complexity.
15.
In 2015, Jim Justice declared his candidacy for governor of West Virginia in the 2016 election as a member of the Democratic Party.
16.
Jim Justice had been a registered member of the Republican Party until changing his registration in February 2015.
17.
In May 2016, Jim Justice won the Democratic nomination for governor.
18.
Jim Justice is known for using colorful metaphors and digs at political opponents.
19.
Jim Justice opposed plans to cut health and education spending.
20.
Jim Justice made the announcement at a rally hosted by President Donald Trump in Huntington and confirmed his support for Trump.
21.
Jim Justice said he was returning to the GOP because he could not support Trump as a member of the Democratic Party.
22.
Later in the general election, Jim Justice endorsed Republican Senate candidate Patrick Morrisey.
23.
In 2020, Jim Justice signed into law the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act, which created felony penalties for protests targeting oil and gas facilities.
24.
Jim Justice defeated US Representative Alex Mooney for the Republican nomination with 61 percent of the vote.
25.
On December 26,2024, Jim Justice announced that he would complete his gubernatorial term, which ended on January 13,2025, before joining the Senate, reducing his Senate term by 10 days.
26.
Jim Justice missed the first roll-call vote of his Senate tenure, on an amendment to the Laken Riley Act.
27.
Jim Justice began his gubernatorial campaign and political career as a conservative Democrat.
28.
Jim Justice switched to the Republican Party a few months after taking office and declared his support for President Donald Trump, to whose reelection campaign he contributed $200,000.
29.
Jim Justice campaigned and has governed with support for the coal industry.
30.
In 2017, Jim Justice said that he opposed budget cuts and supported raising sales taxes.
31.
Jim Justice added, "to be able to make it on 7 or 8 dollars an hour, that's really, really tough", while expressing concern that too high a minimum wage could lead to unemployment.
32.
Jim Justice had said that he does not support abortion, but that the Supreme Court had decided the issue.
33.
Jim Justice has said that he stood "rock solid for life" as governor.
34.
Jim Justice signed a bill legalizing hunting on Sundays on private land.
35.
On March 1,2023, Jim Justice signed into law a bill legalizing campus carry for those with concealed carry permits.
36.
In 2023, Jim Justice signed legislation prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors.
37.
Jim Justice had said he would support similar legislation, called the Fairness Act, in 2020.
38.
Jim Justice has said that he "proudly" signed the 2021 law prohibiting transgender athletes from competing in West Virginia.
39.
Jim Justice encouraged West Virginians to get vaccinated with the slogan "Do It for Babydog", referring to his dog.
40.
Jim Justice sometimes expressed frustration with his state's Republican-majority legislature for being too extreme, and in 2024 he vetoed a bill to curb vaccination requirements for nontraditional public school students.
41.
Jim Justice became known during the COVID-19 pandemic for his pro-vaccine stance and said he had to defer to licensed medical professionals, who "overwhelmingly" spoke out in opposition to the legislation.
42.
Jim Justice met his wife, Cathy Jim Justice in high school.
43.
Jim Justice was sued about his residency by former state house assistant minority whip Isaac Sponaugle on the basis that Justice did not live in the West Virginia Governor's Mansion in Charleston.
44.
Jim Justice owns a female English bulldog named Babydog who has often appeared alongside him at public engagements, including at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
45.
Since 1992, Jim Justice has been president of Beckley Little League.
46.
Jim Justice has been the girls' basketball coach at Greenbrier East High School in Fairlea, West Virginia, since 2003, winning the state championship in 2012.
47.
Jim Justice said that though he would put his business interests in a blind trust upon becoming governor, he would still coach basketball.
48.
Jim Justice coached the girls' team through his two terms as governor and is considering continuing to coach if he is elected to the US Senate.