Washington (CNN) Democratic Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia announced his plans to change his political party affiliation and join the GOP at a rally in Huntington with President Donald Trump on Thursday night. “Today, I will tell you, with lots of prayers and lots of thinking, I can’t help you anymore being a Democrat governor," Justice said. "So tomorrow, I will be changing my registration to Republican.” 
 
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 Justice’s flip is further confirmation of his state’s sharp rightward turn, and reflects Trump’s widespread popularity in a state the president won by a landslide in 2016. Rumors that Justice was going to make the switch circulated throughout the day, but West Virginia Democrats and multiple national Democrats who have worked for Justice in the past said he gave them no notice on the party switch. While I do not agree with his decision, I have always said that I will work with anyone, no matter their political affiliation, to do what is best for the people of West Virginia." But most of the state is registered Democrats, so I'm sure he read the political winds.” 
 
 Privately, the mood among many West Virginia Democrats was less understanding. “The president is coming to West Virginia, and I'm excited he is," Manchin said.
– President Trump was teasing a "very big announcement" Thursday night in West Virginia, CNN reports. And while West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin had hoped it would be "good news" about jobs or the opioid crisis, it appears instead that the state's Democratic Gov. Jim Justice will reveal he's switching parties. According to Politico, no one in the Democratic Party was warned about Justice's plans. “Obviously we're pissed. I mean let's face it, we put a lot of effort in the 2015 election to elect this man as governor,” a Democratic operative in West Virginia says. Democrats had held the governorship in West Virginia since 2001. While Democrats weren't given notice of Justice's switch, they probably shouldn't be surprised. Justice only joined the Democratic Party in 2015 to run for governor. He had been a registered Independent and Republican prior to that and even donated to the Republican Governors' Association a few years before his run as a Democrat. He's also friends with the Trump family and Sen. Mitch McConnell. Plus, the ever-more conservative West Virginia is a hotbed of Trump support. With Justice's defection, there are only 15 Democratic governors in the US and only six states in which Democrats control the governorship and both legislative chambers, the Hill reports. Meanwhile, West Virginia becomes the 26th state in which Republicans control all three.