In the heart of Trump country, an unlikely challenger has emerged in the race for West Virginia’s open U.S. Senate seat. Glenn Elliott, the Democratic former mayor of the small city of Wheeling, is taking on Republican Governor Jim Justice, the heavily favored frontrunner in the conservative stronghold. Though polling and conventional wisdom suggest Elliott faces nearly impossible odds, the underdog candidate believes he just might have a chance.
The Disenchanted Voters of West Virginia
As Elliott campaigns across the Mountain State, one sentiment echoes among voters he encounters: disillusionment with politicians of all stripes. In a state that ranks at or near the bottom in key quality of life measures like childhood poverty and drug overdose deaths, cynicism runs deep. Yet the Democratic hopeful sees an opening.
It would take a lot to make me like any politician right now.
– Moundsville voter to Glenn Elliott
Elliott’s strategy? Highlight his opponent’s vulnerabilities. “Well, I’m running against Jim Justice,” he tells skeptical voters—and interest is suddenly piqued. The former mayor is betting that the incumbent Republican governor is not as popular as he appears.
A Governor Mired in Controversy
Despite his strong approval ratings, Justice carries significant baggage into the race. The billionaire businessman’s companies have been embroiled in a series of lawsuits and investigations:
- The Justice Department sued the governor in 2022, alleging his family’s firms owed over $7.5 million in unpaid fines.
- This year, a helicopter belonging to a Justice company was seized and auctioned to settle an unrelated lawsuit judgment.
Elliott is hoping to capitalize on these controversies and Justice’s “outsider billionaire” image to persuade West Virginians to split their tickets between the deep-red top of the ballot and the Democratic underdog down-ballot.
The former president definitely has the attention of a lot of voters who feel like they’re being ignored. I’m not running against him, I’m running against Jim Justice.
— Glenn Elliott, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate
An Uphill Battle in ‘Trump Country’
There’s no escaping the elephant in the room: West Virginia’s sharp rightward shift in recent years. In 2016 and 2020, Donald Trump carried the state by huge margins. Today, there’s not a single Democrat left in statewide office after Senator Joe Manchin’s departure from the party.
That daunting reality means most national Democratic groups have essentially conceded the Senate race to Republicans. Elliott laments the lack of outside support, arguing that recent polls don’t capture the full extent of Justice’s potential weaknesses. “I’ve always known there’s a chance,” the former mayor insists, “perhaps I’m naive.”
Outworking the Odds
Backed by little more than long-shot hope, Elliott soldiers on. Since clinching the Democratic nomination in May, he’s visited all 55 counties in West Virginia, aiming to boost his name recognition and take his case directly to voters.
Central to his pitch: supporting organized labor, defending abortion rights, and expanding access to healthcare in an impoverished state struggling with the decline of the coal industry. It’s a populist platform tailored to West Virginia’s working class roots—if voters are willing to listen.
As he makes his rounds, Elliott encounters Trump-supporting voters open to critiquing Justice and considering a Democrat for down-ballot races. The challenge is whether there are enough to make a difference.
I just don’t see Jim going to DC much.
— Bob Parsons, retired coal miner and Trump backer
A Glimmer of Hope for Democrats?
For Democrats clinging to a razor-thin U.S. Senate majority, an against-all-odds win by Elliott in West Virginia could prove pivotal, especially if the party falters in defense of vulnerable incumbents in states like Ohio and Montana.
But as the campaign enters its final months, even a moral victory in West Virginia would be welcome news for Democrats, demonstrating that no race is unwinnable and no Republican wave is inevitable, even in a state as deep red as coal country.
Win or lose come November, Glenn Elliott’s quixotic Senate campaign may foreshadow a new Democratic playbook for Trump-era politics: an underdog with nothing to lose, carrying the banner into the reddest of red states, on the belief that fortune favors the bold. In 2024, sometimes the most unlikely and overlooked contests turn the tides.
