Club for Growth moves to stop Jim Justice for Senate coronation

The Club for Growth will back GOP Rep. Alex Mooney’s West Virginia Senate bid, setting up a potential clash with Gov. Jim Justice, who is expected to enter the race at the behest of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

The conservative anti-tax group had vowed earlier to oppose Justice should he enter the Senate race. Their endorsement of Mooney came on the same day that Patrick Morrisey, the state’s attorney general, announced he would run for governor instead of making another run for Senate.

The endorsement adds another level of intrigue into one of the Republican Party’s primary Senate pick up opportunities this cycle.

The current incumbent, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, has not said whether or not he will seek reelection and doesn’t plan to make an announcement until the end of the year. Should he run again, he faces an uphill battle, running in a presidential year in a state that Donald Trump won by 39 points in 2020.

The Club supported Mooney, a member of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, in his 2022 run against GOP Rep. David McKinley for the seat he currently holds. But the group’s president, David McIntosh, had expressed support for both Mooney and Morrisey and the Club held off on an endorsement while both considered a Senate bid.

“Rep. Mooney has proven in his time in Congress that he is a conservative champion who will fight for lower taxes, safer streets, school freedom, and parental rights for the people of West Virginia,” McIntosh said in a statement. “Mooney will be a great US Senator and we’ll do whatever it takes to make sure he’s elected.”

The Club’s involvement could create a messy primary in a key state for Republicans, who are looking to reclaim the Senate majority.

Justice enjoys high approval ratings and massive personal wealth. He has met with NRSC Chair Steve Daines, who encouraged him to enter the race, according to a person familiar with the committee’s plans. The Mitch McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund also released a poll showing Justice as the only candidate who can beat Manchin.

McIntosh told reporters earlier this year that his group did not align with Justice, a former Democrat, but that it was interested in getting involved in the race.

“He would be in what we would call the moderate camp,” McIntosh said of Justice in February. “So we wouldn't support him in the primary.”