CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — Ahead of Gov. Jim Justice’s anticipated formal announcement that he will run for Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D, WV) seat, and after West Virginia Democrats predicted a “battle royale” Republican Primary Election, Rep. Alex Mooney, has launched “phonyjustice.com.”
Mooney announced his run for Manchin’s Senate seat months ago, and while Justice filed paperwork Thursday to run for the seat, had not formally announced his candidacy before the attack website was launched on Thursday afternoon.
The site targets several of Justice’s positions that Mooney’s campaign says add up to a “Liberal Record,” including Justice’s support for “prolonged lockdowns and mask mandates on COVID-19.”
West Virginia was one of only 10 states in the nation still under an emergency order when its COVID-19 State of Emergency ended on Jan. 1, 2023.
Mooney’s campaign also targeted Justice for proposing “the largest tax hike in West Virginia history,” and supporting “Joe Biden’s 1.9 trillion American Rescue Act, which was opposed by every single Republican Senator,” as well as “Biden’s $1.2 trillion non-infrastructure bill.”
Despite Justice’s position on taxes in 2017, he has since passed what his office touted as the “largest tax cut in state history.”
Mooney is calling himself “a true conservative” in comparison to Justice, who was elected as a Democrat but switched parties.
Manchin has not yet officially announced whether or not he intends to defend his Senate seat in 2024, but on Thursday his campaign did send the following statement to the media:
I am laser focused on doing the job West Virginians elected me to do – lowering healthcare costs, protecting Social Security and Medicare, shoring up American energy security and getting our fiscal house in order. But make no mistake, I will win any race I enter.
Click here to see the website yourself.
