West Virginia governor announces he's switching parties
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice announced during a rally with President Trump on Thursday that he is leaving the Democratic Party to become a Republican.
"Today, I tell you as West Virginians, I can't help you anymore being a Democrat governor," Justice said. "So tomorrow, I will be changing my registration to Republican." Justice is the state's only billionaire and made his money in the coal industry, and did not support Hillary Clinton during last year's election. Elizabeth Pearson, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, said Justice "deceived the voters of West Virginia when he ran as a Democrat eight months ago," while Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) of the Republican Governors Association said the group was "thrilled that Gov. Jim Justice wants to join our efforts."
Switching parties is kind of Justice's thing — he was a registered Republican before moving to the Democratic Party in 2015, ahead of his gubernatorial race.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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