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Justice Consideration Creates ‘Spark’ · Commentary - TJ Meadows

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Senator Jim Justice made one thing crystal clear on Talk
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  Speaker 1: Line Thursday. He is 100% considering another run for governor
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  Speaker 1: in 2028. That's not exactly surprising, but what happened around
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  Speaker 1: that declaration is worth paying attention to. Justice spent time
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  Speaker 1: at the West Virginia Chamber's Business Summit this week, meeting
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  Speaker 1: with some of the state's most influential and well-resourced business leaders,
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  Speaker 1: presumably He was taking their temperature. Because if Justice challenges
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Governor Patrick Morrissey, he'll need them. Morrissey is a prolific fundraiser.
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  Speaker 1: He has a formidable political operation. Club for Growth appears
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  Speaker 1: ready to help him, and Morrissey isn't one to back
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  Speaker 1: away from a fight. So, did Justice hear what he
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  Speaker 1: wanted to hear at the Greenbrier? My guess is yes.
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  Speaker 1: Justice was already on the ground Wednesday before Politico reported...
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  Speaker 1: He was exploring a run and before his talk line
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  Speaker 1: interview Thursday. And when he was pressed about 2028, Justice
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  Speaker 1: didn't simply acknowledge he was considering it. He started making
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  Speaker 1: the case. He talked about West Virginia having lost its spark.
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  Speaker 1: He said the business community wants that spark back. Then
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  Speaker 1: he drew a clear contrast with Morrissey over economic development.
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  Speaker 1: Justice believes West Virginia should aggressively pursue companies and, yes,
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  Speaker 1: buy jobs when necessary. Morrissey has emphasized a fundamentals-first strategy.
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  Speaker 1: That doesn't sound like a man casually entertaining a hypothetical.
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  Speaker 1: It sounds like someone leaning toward running. And then something
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  Speaker 1: interesting happened Thursday afternoon. West Virginia announced at the summit
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  Speaker 1: a staggering $ 12 billion data center project in Mason County,
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  Speaker 1: $ 12 billion. Yet throughout the day, I heard more chatter
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: about Justice and his potential candidacy than I did about
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: Project Tamarack. Think about that. A $ 12 billion investment, roughly
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  Speaker 1: four times West Virginia's annual general revenue budget, was competing
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  Speaker 1: for oxygen with a politician who hasn't even announced he's
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  Speaker 1: actually running. That doesn't diminish the importance of the data
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  Speaker 1: center project. Far from it. We need it. We're glad
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  Speaker 1: SDV is investing. But it may tell us something about
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  Speaker 1: Justice's argument that West Virginia is missing a spark. If
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  Speaker 1: there were no appetite for what Justice is selling, Thursday's
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  Speaker 1: massive economic development announcement should have ended the political conversation.
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  Speaker 1: It did not. Jim Justice hasn't announced a campaign. He
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  Speaker 1: may not for months to come. But make no mistake,
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  Speaker 1: he started one heck of a conversation Thursday. And a
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  Speaker 1: lot of people are listening.