James Conley Justice II[2] (born April 27, 1951) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from West Virginia.

Less than seven months after taking office, Justice switched back to the Republican Party after announcing his plans at a rally with U.S. president Donald Trump in the state.

On April 27, 2023, Justice announced his candidacy for the 2024 United States Senate election in West Virginia, running against incumbent Democrat Joe Manchin.

He defeated the Democratic nominee, former Wheeling mayor Glenn Elliott, in the general election, becoming the first Republican to win that seat since 1956.

He grew up in Raleigh County, West Virginia, graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley in 1969.

[13] He founded Bluestone Farms in 1977, which now operates 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) of farmland, and is the leading producer of grain on the East Coast of the United States.

In 2015, after a huge drop in the price of coal led Mechel to close some of the mines, he bought the business back for $5 million.

[18] Justice allegedly owed millions of dollars to the government in back taxes and unpaid coal mining fees and fines.

[19] Two debt-related lawsuits were settled in 2019,[20] and in 2020 mining companies Justice or his family owned agreed to pay $5 million in delinquent safety fines.

Marshals Service to seize and sell a helicopter the company owned to pay an $8 million judgment granted to a creditor.

[26][27] Justice serves as the owner or chief executive officer of over 50 companies, including the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, which he bought for $20.5 million in 2009, preventing its bankruptcy.

[39] In the general election campaign, Justice focused on his COVID-19 response, the state's budget surplus, and his work on the substance abuse crisis.

[40] Several polls had him leading by a large margin over Kanawha County commissioner Ben Salango in the months preceding Election Day.

Even after switching to the Republican Party, Justice initially supported incumbent Democrat Joe Manchin for reelection in the 2018 Senate election in West Virginia.

"[51] In 2020, Justice signed into law the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act, which created felony penalties for protests targeting oil and gas facilities.

Justice defeated Glenn Elliott, the former Democratic mayor of Wheeling, West Virginia, in the November 5 general election.

[57] When President Donald Trump announced across-the-board tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China in January 2025, Justice applauded the move, saying, "Everybody runs through the streets saying, 'The sky is falling!

[62] He switched to the Republican Party a few months after taking office and declared his support for President Donald Trump,[63] to whose reelection campaign he contributed $200,000.

[64] Since his switch, Justice has been described as a moderate or liberal Republican by his 2024 primary opponent Alex Mooney and by Sam Brodey, writing for The Daily Beast.

He added, "to be able to make it on 7 or 8 dollars an hour, that's really, really tough", while also expressing concern that too high a minimum wage could lead to unemployment.

[75][76] In September 2022, after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Justice signed into law a bill banning abortion at any stage of pregnancy, with exceptions for medical emergencies and victims of rape or incest.

[81] Justice supports West Virginia's Medicaid expansion, which was implemented by the previous governor under the Affordable Care Act.

"[83] Justice has said that he respects the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, and that it is settled law.

[86] In 2024, Justice said he would need to review and "see the bill" before committing to sign the Fairness Act, legislation that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment and customer service industries, but added, "if you're lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, you're welcome to come to West Virginia" and participate in the state's economy.

[92] Justice sometimes expressed frustration with his state's Republican-majority legislature for being too extreme, and in 2024 he vetoed a bill to curb vaccination requirements for nontraditional public school students.

[98] Justice is a lifelong fan of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League, and spent $30 million to develop a training camp for the team to use in 2014 at the Greenbrier.

He was sued about his residency by former state house assistant minority whip Isaac Sponaugle on the basis that Justice did not live in the West Virginia Governor's Mansion in Charleston.

The lawsuit was eventually put before the West Virginia State Supreme Court, which denied a motion for a writ of prohibition.

[99] Justice owns a female English bulldog named Babydog who has often appeared alongside him at public engagements, including at the 2024 Republican National Convention.

[101] Justice has been the girls' basketball coach at Greenbrier East High School in Fairlea, West Virginia, since 2003, winning the state championship in 2012.