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  • GOP Gov. Jim Justice battles Democrat Glenn Elliott for US Senate seat from West Virginia

    GOP Gov. Jim Justice battles Democrat Glenn Elliott for US Senate seat from West Virginia

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Voters in ruby red West Virginia will decide Tuesday whether a U.S. Senate seat will flip to Republican.

    Two-term GOP Gov. Jim Justice faced Democratic former Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott for the right to succeed Sen. Joe Manchin. Manchin decided not to seek reelection and switched from Democrat to independent earlier this year. Before he changed parties, Manchin was the only Democrat holding statewide office.

    Republicans have not held both of the state’s U.S. Senate seats since 1958.

    Justice boldly declared himself the winner more than a month before the election.

    The 73-year-old Justice hoped to continue taking advantage of former President Donald Trump’s popularity in West Virginia. Trump won the presidential race in the state by 42 percentage points in 2016 and 39 points in 2020. Justice was elected governor as a Democrat in 2016, then switched to the GOP seven months after entering office, taking the stage at an event with Trump to make the announcement.

    More than a month before the election, Justice declared himself the winner and said he saw no need to debate Elliott. Justice pointed out that he easily won his primary over U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney despite not putting up any election signs.

    While Elliott embarked on a tour of all 55 counties this summer, Justice conducted few campaign stops, instead making economic development announcements in his capacity as governor, bringing along his pet English bulldog, Babydog. Justice also mixed in political talk during his weekly online media briefings, often criticizing President Joe Biden’s policies.

    A former billionaire, Justice and his family own dozens of businesses, including the posh Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. Justice spent considerable time as governor addressing court challenges that sought late business payments and fines.

    Elliott, a 52-year-old lawyer who once served as a legislative assistant to the late U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, said he’s a Democrat because of an intrinsic identification with “the underdog,” and a belief that unions built the American middle class and separated the U.S. economy from other nations in the mid-20th century.

    Polls statewide open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.

  • Republican Jim Banks, Democrat Valerie McCray vying for Indiana’s open Senate seat

    Republican Jim Banks, Democrat Valerie McCray vying for Indiana’s open Senate seat

    INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Republican Jim Banks, an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump, is seeking to capture Indiana’s open U.S. Senate seat in the reliably conservative state against Democrat Valerie McCray.

    Banks, 45, is strongly favored to win the Senate race in the Hoosier state, which Trump won by large margins in 2016 and 2020.

    Banks is a combative defender of Trump who voted against certifying Joe Biden’s presidential election victory after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He had no challenger in the May primary after a series of legal battles ultimately removed egg farmer John Rust from the Republican ballot.

    The sitting congressman represents northeastern Indiana’s 3rd District. He passed on another House term to run for the Senate seat being vacated by fellow Republican Mike Braun who is vying for the Indiana governor’s office. Current Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb is term-limited.

    McCray, a clinical psychologist from Indianapolis, is a political newcomer whose name is appearing on a statewide ballot for the first time. In 2022, she sought to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Todd Young in his reelection bid but didn’t get enough signatures to secure a spot on the Democratic primary ballot. The Senate seat Young holds will next be up for election in 2028.

    In this year’s May Democratic primary, McCray, 65, defeated trade association executive Marc Carmichael, a former state representative, to become the first Black woman chosen as an Indiana mainstream party’s nominee for U.S. Senate.

    McCray and Libertarian candidate Andy Horning met for the only Senate debate on Oct. 29, but Banks did not attend.

    Michael Wolf, a professor of political science and department chairman at Purdue-Fort Wayne, said Banks and McCray have largely parroted their national parties’ talking points in the leadup to Election Day, with Banks emphasizing border security and immigration and McCray healthcare and abortion rights.

    He said Banks is a “formidable candidate who’s got name recognition” and a well funded campaign that didn’t have to spend on a GOP primary race because he had no challenger.

    While Wolf said Democrats have been energized by McCray’s candidacy, he notes that the party hasn’t had much luck in statewide elections in recent years as Indiana voters have grown more conservative.

    “She’s got a lot of work to do and she’s working against trends,” he said.