West Virginia GOP Gov. Jim Justice confirmed Thursday that he is “seriously considering running for Senate,” adding some intrigue to one of the top Senate races of the 2024 election cycle.
“I want continued goodness for our state. I’ll try to help in any way, whether it be the Senate or the House or the next governor to be, whatever it may be,” Justice said in a video he shared on Twitter. “And I may very well be doing it from home. And I may very well be doing it from Washington.”
Sen. Joe Manchin is a top GOP target as one of three Democrats up for re-election in states that Trump won in 2020 — and Trump won West Virginia by a whopping 39 points. Manchin has not yet said if he’s running for re-election, recently telling Politico, “I haven’t decided, I swear to God.”
Justice cannot run for another term as governor thanks to the state’s term limits, but he wouldn’t be alone in the GOP primary. Rep. Alex Mooney launched a Senate run back in November.
In other campaign news…
Ro Khanna’s next move: Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., says he’s considering running for Senate, but Politico reports that his allies also believe he could run for president, including in 2024 if Biden does not run for a second term. Khanna, though, ruled out a White House run.
Is Arizona next? NBC News’ Natasha Korecki reports on a new bipartisan coalition in Arizona aiming to get a measure on the ballot to change the state’s primary system from a partisan primary to an open primary, potentially with a ranked-choice voting process. The effort aims to stymie extremist candidates and allow independent voters to participate in the nominating process.
Not in the Club: The Club for Growth is launching a TV ad in Indiana aimed at discouraging former GOP Gov. Mitch Daniels from entering the open Senate race, per WISHTV Indianapolis.
Chicago shakeup: The Chicago Public Schools inspector general is investigating whether Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s campaign asked public school teachers to recruit students to volunteer for her campaign for school credit, NBC News’ Natasha Korecki reports. The investigation is shaking up an already competitive mayoral race, which is set for Feb. 28.
