Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice won the state’s GOP Senate primary Tuesday, positioning himself as the favorite to succeed retiring Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in the upper chamber.
Justice cruised to victory, defeating his main rival, Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.), in a 61.5% to 26.6% vote.
Several other candidates in the GOP field failed to obtain more than 3.1% of the vote, individually.
“Thank you, West Virginia, for placing your support and trust in me,” Justice wrote on X.
“I am truly humbled and will work every day to win in November so we can flip the Senate and deliver on our America-First agenda!” the two-term governor added.
Justice, 73, will face the winner of a three-way race between Democrats Glenn Elliott, the mayor of Wheeling, W.Va.; Zachary Shrewsbury, a community organizer; and Don Blankenship, a former coal company CEO.
The Democratic Senate primary was too close to call as of 9 p.m. ET.
A former Democrat, Justice announced he was joining the Republican Party at a rally for former President Donald Trump in 2017.
Trump, 77, endorsed Justice’s 2024 Senate bid last October.
The popular West Virginia governor is a heavy favorite in the general election, and a victory by Justice in November would allow Republicans to flip the seat currently held by the centrist Manchin, who announced he would not seek re-election last November.
Manchin is the only Democrat in West Virginia’s congressional delegation. He has represented the state in the Senate since 2010.
Trump raked in more than 68% of the vote in the deeply red state in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
Democrats currently hold a slim 51-49 majority in the Senate, but have to defend 23 seats this cycle — Republicans have to protect just 11.
Justice, who is term-limited, was ineligible to seek a third term in the West Virginia governor’s mansion.
In the race to replace him, Steve Williams, the Democratic mayor of Huntington, ran uncontested in the state’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.
In the Republican primary contest, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey squared off against Moore Capito, the son of Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, but the race was too close to call as of 10:15 p.m.