DEMS/GOP/SUPPORTERS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, standing next to President Donald Trump at a rally on Thursday [8-3-17] night, announced that he was changing political parties, ditching the Democrats and joining Trump’s Republicans.
‘I can’t help you anymore being a Democrat governor,’ Justice told the crowd. ‘So tomorrow I will be changing my registration to Republican,’ he said to loud cheers.
Justice, a billionaire businessman with interests in coal and agriculture, won election in November as a Democrat in his first attempt at political office. Until 2015, he had been a registered Republican.
Trump, who won West Virginia by 42 percentage points over Democrat Hillary Clinton, campaigned on a promise to bring back coal jobs, an important industry in the state.
Justice said his late mother would have told him about switching parties: ‘Jimmy, it’s about damn time you came to your senses.’
Justice told the crowd he had met with Trump twice at the White House in the past several weeks to present ideas on coal and manufacturing.”
-Roberta Rampton and Eric Beech, “At Trump rally, West Virginia governor switches parties,” Reuters, Aug. 3, 2017 01:42pm