Gov. Justice remains popular, though favorability has dropped
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CHARLESTON -- Gov. Jim Justice remains among the most popular governors in the nation, though that popularity has begun to slip over the last year.
Polling firm Morning Consult released its quarterly rankings of governors in all 50 states. That poll, conducted between April 1 and June 30, included 2,112 registered voters in West Virginia with a 2% margin of error.
According to the poll, 62% of respondents approve of Justice's job performance as governor, with 33% expressing disapproval and 5% unsure or expressing no opinion. A request for comment from Justice was not returned.
When compared to other governors, Justice was at the bottom of the top 10 governors in the U.S. Out of the top 10 governors, only South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem had a higher disapproval number at 35%.
Vermont Republican Gov. Phil Scott had the highest approval number at 76%, followed by Wyoming Republican Gov. Mark Gordon (69%), Hawaii Democratic Gov. Josh Green (64%), New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu (64%), Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear (64%), Noam (63%), Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy (62%), Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey (62%) and Connecticut Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont (62).
While Justice remains popular among West Virginia's registered voters, his numbers are softening some. During Morning Consult's previous quarterly rankings covering the period of Jan. 1 and March 31, Justice ranked in the top five most popular governors with a 66% approval number and a 31% disapproval number.
Compared to last year's Morning Consult quarterly governor rankings covering April-June 2022, Justice also was in the top five most popular governors, also with a 66% approval number but a 28% disapproval number.
The most recent Morning Consult poll coincides with the period when Justice announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2024 for the seat held by Sen. Joe Manchin. It also coincides with an onslaught of bad news for Justice and his family businesses, such as new legal cases and hundreds of millions of dollars in loan debts.
Justice announced his Senate candidacy at the end of April at his historic Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, joining a race with multiple Republican candidates, including U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va. Justice, who won election as governor in 2016 as a Democrat and switched parties in 2017 at a rally with former president Donald Trump, has consistently led Mooney in several polls by double-digits.
"Alex Mooney is the only true conservative running to unseat liberal Joe Manchin, and he has shown his unwavering support for Donald Trump time and again," said John Findlay, Mooney's campaign manager, in a statement last week. "While Justice tries to gaslight voters, we know they won't fall for it. West Virginians know that Justice is out of touch with reality and should go back to dealing with his mounting debt and lawsuits."