Massie faces – Rep. Thomas Massie is fighting for his political survival in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District next Tuesday, as President Donald Trump campaigns for a primary challenger, Ed Gallrein. At a Lincoln Day Dinner in Covington, Republican voters weigh loyalty to
The Lincoln Day Dinner in Covington carried the tension of a rare intra-party fight: Republicans ate, listened to speeches, and watched the idea of “loyalty” get pulled in two directions at once.
Rep.. Thomas Massie was stuck in Washington for a vote on Capitol Hill. leaving his voters in Kentucky to hear directly from his opponent.. Ed Gallrein. drafted by President Donald Trump to run against Massie in next Tuesday’s primary. stepped onto the stage as the president’s anger over dissenting Republicans played out in the 4th Congressional District.
The crowd had just heard Gallrein framed by one attendee as suffering from “a severe case of Trump derangement syndrome.” But another speaker. state senator Gex Williams. pushed back hard. telling the room that voters could support President Donald Trump and Thomas Massie at the same time.. “If you are thinking that you can’t be for President Trump and for Thomas Massie. you certainly can be. ” Williams said.
The debate is already tied to a broader pattern of pressure from the White House—Trump dislodged several Indiana state senators who opposed his redistricting plan last week. and he is supporting a primary challenge against U.S.. Sen.. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana on Saturday.. Still, the vitriol aimed at Massie stands out.. Trump has called Massie a “moron” and a “nut job” who “will go down as the WORST Republican Congressman. ” and he made an unusual trip to Kentucky to campaign against him.. Some of the president’s top advisers are working to help Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL.
Massie’s break from Trump centers on a series of high-profile votes and positions.. He angered Trump by voting against the president’s signature tax legislation over concerns about adding to the national debt. pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. and opposing Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran.. Massie insists those actions reflect the America First promises Trump made on the campaign trail.
In a Kentucky district where Trump won by 35 points two years ago. Massie told The Associated Press that the upcoming primary is “by far the most challenging reelection I’ve ever faced.” The race plays out across Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District. which sweeps northeast from the outskirts of Louisville along the Ohio River. through the suburbs south of Cincinnati and over to the lush foothills and old coal towns of Appalachia.
For years, voters here have sent Massie back to Congress—embracing his stalwart independence and jaunty personality.. In 2020. they brushed off Trump’s social media demand to “throw Massie out of Republican Party” because he was a “third rate Grandstander.” Now the question is sharper: will they do it again?
Tonya Young, a 57-year-old special education teacher at the dinner, said she is leaning toward Massie but still undecided. “If all we’re doing is pulling in yes men, then how do you grow from that? How do you have the best end product if everyone just says, ‘Oh yeah, that’s a great idea,’” she said.
Young also acknowledged how hard it can be to hold both loyalties. “However, I do feel like it’s important to stay loyal. That’s where, I’m like, I’m a hot mess,” she said, adding, “Sometimes you have to just bite the bullet and compromise on things.”
She said she will plumb through Republican-backed bills that Massie voted against before making up her mind. What is not a major part of her decision is Trump’s endorsement of Gallrein or the president’s attacks on Massie.
Young still supports Trump, rating his second term at a “B to a C+” relative to his campaign promises. During Trump’s first term, she said she’d “probably put more stock in” his endorsement.
At the dinner, other voters sounded the opposite alarm.. Steve Jarvis. a 77-year-old retired law enforcement officer wearing a bespoke American flag bow tie made of feathers. said he has decided to vote against Massie for the very first time.. “Made me sad, truly it does,” he said, adding, “I like Massie.”
Jarvis described his early support for Massie as personal and longstanding.. When Massie first ran for Congress. Jarvis bought a Massie campaign sign sized for a freeway overpass and planted it outside his home. a few doors down from which lived Massie’s opponent.. But Jarvis said departures from the party “made me nuts.. I can’t do it anymore.”
He pointed to Trump’s flagship Big Beautiful Bill. which Massie voted against citing the consequent budget deficit and increased inflation.. “I understand voting your principle once or twice,” Jarvis said.. “but at some point in time when it becomes crucial. I think they have to get in line.” Jarvis said he believes Gallrein would get in line.
Jana Kathman came to a different conclusion.. “I’m going to vote for Massie even though he makes me mad. ” she said while shopping for bagels at a local farmers market outside Covington.. The 56-year-old registered nurse said she likes Massie “as a person” and “how he lives his life. ” and that she believes he “stands very strong with his convictions.”
Kathman said she still likes Trump, but his endorsement and attacks don’t impress her. “I don’t like when Trump plays the little games as soon as someone opposes him, but we know that’s how Trump lashes out,” she said.
Gallrein’s speech at the Lincoln Day Dinner was designed to link Massie to a larger national fight.. He launched into a list of Trump-backed policies Massie had voted against. lumping him in with the “radical Democrats.” Gallrein also hyped Trump directly. telling the audience: “Do you know he doesn’t take a salary?”
Massie’s campaign argument. delivered in a way that has become a go-to refrain. is that national politics pressures members to surrender their principles.. “Politicians promise during the campaign, and then they go to D.C.. to go along to get along,” Massie said.. “My opponent is promising to go along to get along.”
Massie is hopeful the personal heat won’t last.. “Once this race is over. I don’t think there’s any benefit to him attacking me. I’ll have the antibodies from a natural infection. ” Massie said chuckling.. He also suggested that after years of being considered a conservative gadfly in Congress. he may already have those “antibodies.” “This will be the booster shot. ” he said.
The pattern is hard to miss in the way the facts line up: Trump escalated pressure last week in Indiana and is pushing a separate primary in Louisiana on Saturday. and in Kentucky the campaign has turned personal—Massie’s specific votes and positions are being used alongside Trump’s direct insults and a challenger built with Trump’s advisers working to help him.
Gallrein declined an interview request, and he has declined to attend candidate forums and debates with Massie.. Several voters said they were grateful for Gallrein’s service. but still did not have a grasp of his platform beyond his fidelity to Trump.. At the dinner. the mood kept returning to that choice: whether voters can treat loyalty to Trump as compatible with backing a congressman who has repeatedly refused to fall in line.
Thomas Massie Ed Gallrein Donald Trump Kentucky 4th Congressional District Republican primary Lincoln Day Dinner Gex Williams Jeffrey Epstein files Big Beautiful Bill Bill Cassidy Indiana redistricting plan Navy SEAL