Tag: Kanawha County, West Virginia

Later Friday, Manchin said he had not read the column and did not directly answer a question of whether he’s going to run for governor. Sitting GOP Gov. Jim Justice is currently facing legal action in Kanawha County Circuit Court filed by a Democratic member of the House of Delegates alleging he is violating the state constitution by living at his Lewisburg home. Bray Cary, senior adviser to the governor and a board member of natural gas driller EQT, is known to have increasing influence in the office. In jest, Justice referred to Cary as “my oldest son” at his State of the State address Wednesday. “I think people are smart enough in West Virginia to put two and two together,” he said. The relationship eventually soured. Justice switched to the Republican Party in 2017; he fired Gayle Manchin, the senator’s wife, from her post as the secretary of the Department of Education and the Arts; and he endorsed Attorney General Patrick Morrisey in his failed Senate bid against Manchin. In a September 2018 interview, Manchin said supporting Justice’s campaign was the biggest “mistake” of his political career. However, after the interview, he clarified to say it was the greatest “disappointment” of his career.