West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Saturday appointed Rep. Evan Jenkins to a vacant seat on the state Supreme Court of Appeals. 

Jenkins, who lost a primary for the GOP Senate nomination in May, has filed to run for the special election to fill the remainder of the term on the court, which is set for Nov. 6. 

Since he couldn’t run for re-election to his 3rd District House seat while he was running for the Senate nomination, Jenkins was already planning to leave Congress at the end of this term. But his court appointment means he’ll likely be leaving sooner.  Jenkins will resign from Congress when he takes the bench. 

Jenkins was first elected to Congress in 2014, when he unseated longtime Democratic Rep. Nick J. Rahall. He’d previously served as a Democrat in the state Senate before switching parties to run for Congress. 

Despite supporting President Donald Trump by nearly 50 points in 2016, the 3rd District is attracting national attention this year. Democratic state Sen. Richard Ojeda is running against GOP state Del. Carol Miller in a race Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates Leans Republican.Watch: House Ratings Change in Favor of Democrats