Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, who was a Democrat until August, said he is supporting Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., during his reelection campaign.
“Joe Manchin has been a friend of mine,” Justice said to a group of Republican lawmakers Wednesday after being asked his thoughts on the Manchin race. “Now, he may be a terrible person to y’all, but Joe has been a friend of mine and I’m going to tell you this as straight up as I can be: Joe Manchin is becoming a very key, integral part with Donald Trump. And I’m going to take my read off of Donald Trump.”
Justice ran for governor as a Democrat in 2016, although he previously identified as Republican. In August, he switched his party affiliation back to Republican.
One of Justice’s top campaign managers, Larry Puccio, was the former campaign manager and chief of staff for Manchin. Justice also hired Nick Casey, campaign treasurer for Manchin, to be his first chief of staff. Once Justice switched parties, however, he fired Casey.
“Joe Manchin is — and I know this — Joe Manchin is Donald Trump’s liaison with the Democrats,” he added. “And you want, and I want, what Donald Trump is trying to get done.”
Manchin was the former governor of West Virginia and has served in the U.S. Senate since 2010.
