Four years ago, in the midst of a contentious governor's race, the Republican Governors Association began running television attack ads against Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin. The ads focused on health care and mine reclamation bills passed by lawmakers and signed by Tomblin.
State Democrats noted that the bills had broad bipartisan support. "I can't believe [Tomblin's opponent] Bill Maloney and the Republican Governors Association are attacking their own Republican legislators," Larry Puccio, then chairman of the state Democratic Party, said at the time. "Once again, Maloney's out-of-state friends just don't get it."
The Republican Governors Association's ads were funded, in small part, by Jim Justice, now the leading Democratic candidate for governor, and his family.
Justice, along with his wife, son and daughter, gave a total of $200,000 to the RGA on Sept. 28, 2012, according to financial disclosures compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. Those donations came days after the Republican group's ads against Tomblin began airing.
Earlier in 2012, Justice and his family members all gave the maximum allowable $1,000 to support Tomblin's campaign.
Justice's split donations are an extreme illustration of the divide the governor's race has caused among Democratic leaders - those supportive of his candidacy in a state increasingly tilting to the right, and those wary of a candidate with a shallow history of party loyalty.
"Jim Justice was extremely supportive of Gov. Tomblin, very, very supportive of Gov. Tomblin," Puccio, now a senior consultant for Justice's campaign, said Friday - implying that money was spent in other races, "so what happened in other states, with other elections, would have nothing to do with us here in West Virginia."
Tomblin, who has not endorsed a candidate for governor, did not respond when asked about Justice's Republican donations.
"Gov. Tomblin appreciates the support he received from West Virginia voters in 2012," said Chris Stadelman, a Tomblin spokesman.
Despite West Virginia's rightward swing in recent years, Tomblin remains among the most popular politicians in the state, according to the limited available public polling.
The hotly contested primary to replace Tomblin has put state Democratic leaders on opposing sides.
In Justice's camp are a U.S. senator (Joe Manchin), a former governor (Gaston Caperton) and two former state party chairmen (Puccio and Nick Casey).
Former U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin has the same lineup of supporters: a former U.S. senator (Jay Rockefeller), a former governor (Bob Wise) and two former state party chairmen (Steve White and Chuck Smith).
Not all those officials supporting Goodwin have formally endorsed him, but all have given the maximum $1,000 to his campaign without giving to other gubernatorial candidates.
The third Democratic candidate, state Senate Minority Leader Jeff Kessler has not received the same level of support from prominent Democrats.
While Justice's RGA donation had not been previously reported, he has long donated, openly, to politicians from both parties. That includes money for Democrats Manchin, Rockefeller and former Rep. Nick Rahall (who declined to endorse anyone in the governor's race before the primary), as well as Republicans including former President George W. Bush, then Rep. Shelley Moore Capito and Rahall's 2010 opponent, Elliott "Spike" Maynard.
Caperton, in endorsing Justice, cited his success running The Greenbrier resort and in the coal industry.
"Everything he does, he does in a way that's successful," Caperton said Friday. "That's the kind of person that we need as a leader, somebody who's been successful in everything he's done."
He said he was not concerned about Justice's 2012 support of Republicans.
"The most successful politician in West Virginia has been John D. [Jay] Rockefeller, and his family has traditionally been Republican," Caperton said. "I think this is a place in America where you can be a Republican and a Democrat and we respect them both."
Rockefeller, who gave Goodwin $1,000 in March but had not spoken publicly about the race, made clear on Friday that he was for Goodwin.
"I've just always liked Booth," he said. "He put Don Blankenship right where he should have - I just wish he'd gotten a longer term, but that's all they could do."
Rockefeller has a long history with Goodwin's family. Goodwin's uncle, Tom, was Rockefeller's chief of staff when he was governor in the late 1970s and Goodwin's cousin, Rochelle "Rocky" Goodwin was Rockefeller's longtime state director while he was in the Senate ("Probably the smartest woman I've ever met in my life," Rockefeller said Friday).
"I think he's very solid and I think he thinks things through," Rockefeller said of Goodwin. "I like people who think things through. He's not where you go for a sound bite."
Asked if Justice's donations to Republicans were cause for concern, Rockefeller hesitated.
"You're talking about the coal guy?" he asked. "Does that bear further thought, I would say. I didn't know until you told me, but I would say that bears thought."
"Jeff Kessler I've known for a long time and I like him, but I just like Booth's stability," Rockefeller added.
The current leadership of the state Democratic Party is split on the presidential race - where, as super delegates, they play a role in choosing the nominee - but officially neutral on the governor's race.
"Our job as the party is to run a good race and since we're a part of that, we're going to give everybody an opportunity," state party Vice Chairman Chris Regan, a Bernie Sanders supporter, said.
State Chairwoman Belinda Biafore, who supports Hillary Clinton, said the disagreement among past party leaders was healthy.
"All of those party chairs are going to line up behind whoever the party nominee is," Biafore said. "I was hoping it wouldn't get negative among the three [candidates] but that's just politics, at the end of the day that's what happens."
She said she was not concerned about Justice's past Republican donations, but hoped he would help Democrats raise money in the future.
"As Mr. Justice will tell you, he's not a politician, he's a businessman, so I'm sure he felt an obligation possibly, I have no idea what made him do it," she said. "I think he's very generous on both sides and when you're a businessman I guess you have to do those kind of things."
Both Biafore and Regan said they wished there had been more debates among the three candidates.
There was just one debate with all three - sponsored by the state Democratic Party - because Justice repeatedly declined to do more.
"I wish there would have been more than one, but do I want 21? No," Biafore said.
Regan said there "absolutely" should have been more debates.
"The limited format and the limited time of that, I felt was a let-down to our voters, given how important this election is," he said.
He also cited a quote from Justice in the Beckley Register-Herald in which, asked about Clinton, Justice said he would not "campaign with anybody."
"The gubernatorial nominee, by definition, carries the flag for the party statewide," Regan said. "It seems very unusual to have any candidate declare in advance of the primary that he's not going to do that."
Kessler has used Justice's past donations to Republicans as a line of attack, noting that in the last two elections the state Democratic Party, led by Puccio, has run on a motto of "West Virginia's not for sale."
"Well, let's hope our party isn't," Kessler said. "We will see."
Reach David Gutman at david.gutman@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5119 or follow @davidlgutman on Twitter.