In Kentucky on Tuesday, US Rep. Thomas Massie lost the Republican House primary to Ed Gallrein, a result the Associated Press said reinforced President Donald Trump’s ability to reshape GOP contests through endorsements and direct support. The matchup, held in a deeply red district, pitted an incumbent who often broke with Trump against a challenger framed by Trump’s backing as a loyalist.
AP described the contest as another instance in which Republicans who angered Trump fell to primary challengers backed by the president. In recent weeks, Trump-aligned bids were credited with defeats of other Republicans, including Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana and Indiana state senators who opposed Trump on redistricting, according to the report.
Massie, who has served in Congress since 2012, emerged as one of the most outspoken holdouts, AP said. The report said he supported the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, criticized the war in Iran, and voted against Trump’s signature tax legislation last year, even as he tried to argue to voters that they could support both him and Trump.
The campaign grew increasingly expensive and competitive, with AP reporting the race became the most expensive U.S. House primary in history. In the closing stretch, AP said Massie tried to show that his vote record would not amount to opposition to Trump by recruiting other Republicans, including Rep. Lauren Boebert, as the primary turned “white hot.”
After the loss, Massie took the stage before a crowd that cheered and chanted, AP reported. Massie told them that “We stirred up something. There is a yearning in this country for someone who will vote for principles over party,” and he criticized what he described as congressional deference: “If the legislative branch always votes whichever way the wind is blowing, then we have mob rule,” adding that following the Constitution is “a republic,” according to AP. He also teased a potential run in 2028, telling the crowd, “we’ll talk about it later.”
Gallrein, AP reported, delivered a shorter speech at his victory party in Covington, where he first thanked Trump, who visited Kentucky in March to boost Gallrein. AP said Gallrein is a former Navy SEAL who framed his campaign around military service and loyalty to Trump, and he accused Massie of abandoning Trump and the party.
AP reported that Trump responded quickly to the result, telling reporters, “He was a bad guy. He deserves to lose.” White House communications director Steven Cheung said via social media, “Do not ever doubt President Trump and his political power,” AP reported.
While Gallrein positioned himself as the Trump-aligned alternative, AP said Massie’s outreach sought to persuade voters who generally view Trump favorably. AP described some attendees at Gallrein’s event as eager about the change, including Kim Dees, who called Gallrein “ecstatic” and “very authentic,” and Jeanine Thomas, who said Massie and Trump had the same campaign promises and that Massie was punished for not “toe[ing] the line” when it conflicted with pledges to constituents.
The AP report said the campaign also drew attention to Massie’s stance on foreign aid, including his votes against U.S. aid to Israel and accusations of antisemitism that he denied, arguing instead that he is generally against all foreign aid. AP said pro-Israel interest groups spent millions against Massie, including through the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund, and that issue became a “stump topic” for him, including a line in his concession speech in which he joked about searching for Gallrein to concede after learning Gallrein was in Tel Aviv.
Beyond the House primary, AP reported that Republicans statewide chose US Rep. Andy Barr as their nominee to replace Mitch McConnell in the Senate race. Barr, backed by Trump, beat Daniel Cameron, a former state attorney general who leaned into his Christianity during the campaign, the report said, as McConnell steps down after becoming the longest-serving Senate leader in American history.