Billionaire coal executive wins Dem nod for W.Va. governor

Businessman Jim Justice, a coal executive and the richest man in West Virginia, won the Democratic primary for governor there on Tuesday night.

Justice easily beat two opponents in the race, former U.S. district attorney Booth Goodwin and state Senate Minority Leader Jeff Kessler. As of Wednesday morning, Justice had about 51 percent of the vote with nearly all precincts reporting, according to The Associated Press. 

{mosads}Justice made his fortune and his name as an executive in his family’s coal mining and agriculture businesses and as owner of West Virginia’s famed Greenbrier resort. He’s worth close to $1.6 billion, according to Forbes, and is considered to be the only billionaire in West Virginia. 

He has run a campaign based around bringing jobs back to the state, The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports, saying in one campaign ad, “I create jobs. I’ve done it in coal, I’ve done it in agriculture, I’ve done it at The Greenbrier, now I want to do it for the whole state of West Virginia.”

He repeated that theme at an election night party on Tuesday. 

“I’m not a politician. I’m a business guy,” Justice said, according to the paper. “If you elect another politician to the head of the line, to the biggest office in our state, this is going to be terribly blunt, but mark it down — you and I will die 50th” in state economic ratings. 

He said Tuesday he’s “not giving up on coal,” West Virginia’s most famous industry but one that has declined for years as demand for the fuel has decreased. 

Justice will face off against state Senate President Bill Cole in the general election. The two have divided mining industry endorsements: the West Virginia Coal Association, which represents producers, has backed Cole, while the United Mine Workers union has endorsed Justice. 

A Public Policy Polling survey last week showed Justice with an early edge in the race, 41 percent to 35 percent, though presumptive Republican presidenital nominee Donald Trump holds a 27-percentage point edge over Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton at the top of the ticket.