Massie loses – U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie lost his Kentucky Republican House primary on Tuesday to Ed Gallrein, the president-backed challenger who won in a race that underscored Donald Trump’s growing reach over GOP voters. Afterward, Massie told a cheering crowd “we’ll talk a
HEBRON. Ky.—Thomas Massie stepped onstage to a fired-up crowd in the wake of a loss that felt personal. and not just political. The Kentucky U.S. representative’s Republican House primary defeat on Tuesday ended a years-long pattern of bucking his party’s dominant direction—only to find himself on the wrong side of a challenge backed by President Donald Trump.
Massie. who has served in Congress since 2012. was one of the GOP lawmakers Trump has most openly angered while staying defiant. He pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. criticized the war in Iran. and voted against the president’s signature tax legislation last year. In the closing weeks, he tried to persuade voters they could support him and Trump at the same time.
Instead. Trump handpicked and endorsed Ed Gallrein. and Gallrein’s win landed as another demonstration of the president’s influence over Republican voters—one echoed by recent defeats of other party figures after Trump-backed challengers surged. The Associated Press reported similar outcomes in recent weeks, including Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana and several Indiana state senators who defied Trump on redistricting.
Massie’s concession address carried the familiar edge of someone used to fighting uphill. His speech lasted over 20 minutes, as the crowd cheered and chanted slogans including “no more wars” and “America First!”
“We stirred up something. There is a yearning in this country for someone who will vote for principles over party,” Massie told supporters.
He also turned to what he described as a breakdown in how Congress should work. “If the legislative branch always votes whichever way the wind is blowing, then we have mob rule,” he said. But if lawmakers follow the constitution, “we have a Republic.”
As he closed, Massie teased the future without fully committing. “We’ll talk about it later.”
Gallrein, at his victory party in Covington, delivered a shorter, more muted speech. His first remarks were gratitude toward Trump, who visited Kentucky in March to boost Gallrein.
Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, ran on his military service and his loyalty to the president. He accused Massie of forsaking Trump and the party.
Because the district remains deeply red, Gallrein is favored to win the general election against Democrat Melissa Strange.
After Massie’s defeat, Trump weighed in with blunt language. “He was a bad guy. He deserves to lose.” Presidential spokesperson Steven Cheung, posting via social media, added: “Do not ever doubt President Trump and his political power.”
The campaign flared hottest in the final stretch. Massie recruited a phalanx of other Republicans—including Rep. Lauren Boebert—to argue that voting for him would not amount to voting against Trump. Trump. for his part. escalated his attacks on social media. calling Massie “an obstructionist and a fool.” On Monday. Gallrein shared a stage with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The primary’s size reflected the intensity: the race was the most expensive U.S. House primary in history.
For Massie, one of the central questions was how to win over voters who already view Trump favorably—especially after Trump told them to back Gallrein. At Gallrein’s event, Kim Dees said she was “ecstatic,” calling the candidate “very authentic” and “a man of honor.”
Massie, meanwhile, said he voted with his party the vast majority of the time. For the remainder, he said they were proposals that violated his America First principles, including adding to the national debt and getting into military entanglements such as the war with Iran.
That framing resonated with Jeanine Thomas, from Union, who attended Massie’s party. “He and Trump had the same campaign promises, and he stuck with them,” Thomas said. “He was courageous enough to not toe the line when it was going against what he had promised his constituents that he would do. and unfortunately he was punished for it.”.
Massie’s record also exposed him to sharper scrutiny. He has voted against U.S. aid to Israel and faced accusations of antisemitism. Denying those accusations, he repeatedly argued that he is generally against all foreign aid. Still. the race drew millions of dollars against him from pro-Israel interest groups. including from the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund.
Massie returned to that fight in his concession speech, telling the crowd: “I would have come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent and concede and it took a while to find Ed Gallrein in Tel Aviv.”
The defeat did not come in isolation. Trump’s ire in recent days turned toward other Republicans who backed Massie, including Boebert. After Boebert posted her support for the incumbent. Trump posted on Truth Social asking for a Republican to challenge her—despite the filing deadline in her home state of Colorado having already passed. “Anybody that dumb deserves a good Primary fight!” Trump wrote.
Trump’s influence stretched beyond the House contest as well. The president swayed a Senate primary not only through endorsement but by offering a third challenger. Nate Morris. an ambassadorship just over two weeks before Election Day. Morris, who positioned himself as the MAGA candidate, withdrew from the race and encouraged his backers to support Andy Barr.
Republicans statewide chose U.S. Rep. Andy Barr on Tuesday to replace Mitch McConnell, the longtime U.S. Senate leader. In a contest representing a generational shift for the party. Barr—endorsed by Trump—defeated Daniel Cameron. a former state attorney general. Cameron leaned into his Christianity during his campaign.
During the campaign, both Barr and Cameron tiptoed around their relationship with McConnell, whom they had previously called a mentor.
McConnell has criticized Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and, more recently, voted against some of his Cabinet picks. McConnell is stepping down after becoming the longest serving Senate leader in American history. a turn that coincides with the transformation of the party under Trump.
Many Republicans admire McConnell’s achievements. but they say he has grown out of step with the Make America Great Again and America First movements that Trump helped spawn. Both Barr and Cameron acknowledged that tension and. while ingratiating themselves to Trump. put some distance between themselves and the senator.
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Bedayn reported from Austin, Texas.
Thomas Massie Ed Gallrein Kentucky GOP primary Donald Trump Lauren Boebert Pete Hegseth Melissa Strange Mitch McConnell Andy Barr Daniel Cameron Nate Morris