At a candidate forum at the First Baptist Church of Charleston West Virginia on Saturday, billionaire businessmen and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Justice was asked why the African-American community should give him their votes.
He responded by pointing out how many black people he hired and how much he was appreciated by, “our farming people.”
His full reply:
“You know the best workforce that I have — I have 102 different companies — the very number one documented over and over and over and over workforce that I have is probably a 85 percent African American workforce. They’re our farming people. They’re our very best that we have. They love me with all my soul. They don’t go out and pick cucumbers. They drive the most high tech farming equipment in the land. They plant more corn acres than anybody in America.”
According to the Facebook page for the event, it was hosted by four African-American Baptist pastors and was intended to address the concerns of the black community.
Justice, whose net worth is estimated at around $1.7 billion, owns dozens of coal mines, as well as Stoney Brook Plantation (a nature preserve), and the storied Greenbrier hotel.
Video of his answer was posted online:
TheDC has reached out to the Justice campaign for comment and will update this post with their response.