Republican Jim Justice has won West Virginia’s open U.S. Senate race, the AP projects, flipping a key Senate seat that was held by Joe Manchin for 14 years.

Jim Justice (R-WV) won the West Virginia Senate race on Tuesday to succeed outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV), handing Republicans a major victory in their quest for control of the upper chamber. The Associated Press called the race for Justice at 7:30 PM ET,

More than a month before the election, Jim Justice declared victory in his U.S. Senate race in deep red West Virginia. It was a chest thump from a Republican who