It’s still Donald Trump’s party. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky lost his Republican primary Tuesday to Ed Gallrein, a farmer and former Navy SEAL backed by the president, ending the career of one of the party’s most prominent internal critics.
Massie, first elected in 2012, built his reputation as a libertarian-leaning conservative willing to defy GOP leadership. He also helped lead a bipartisan effort to release the full government files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a move that drew criticism from Trump and his supporters.
“When President Trump needs backup, Massie wants to debate process,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a Monday rally in Kentucky. “When the movement needs unity, especially at the biggest moments, Massie’s willing to vote with Democrats.”
Trump had publicly attacked Massie on social media, calling him an “obstructionist and a fool,” and recruited Gallrein to challenge him. MAGA KY, a super PAC aligned with Trump, spent nearly $7 million on ads criticizing Massie’s voting record and replaying Trump’s past description of him as a “real loser.” One recent ad used artificial intelligence to portray Massie in a “throuple” with Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar.
Massie argued that the intervention from Trump and Hegseth showed weakness rather than strength. He and his allies raised more than $13 million for their own advertising campaign, emphasizing areas where Massie had supported Trump while questioning whether Gallrein was truly aligned with the president’s agenda.
“I agree with President Trump a whole lot more than I disagree with him,” Massie said in one campaign ad.
The race also exposed broader fractures inside the Republican Party. Massie has opposed U.S. aid to Israel and was the only House Republican to vote against a resolution condemning antisemitism, citing First Amendment concerns. Super PACs tied to the Republican Jewish Coalition and AIPAC each spent more than $4 million against him.
Massie and Trump have clashed for years. In 2020, Trump called for Massie to be removed from the GOP after the Kentucky congressman delayed passage of a major coronavirus relief bill, though no serious challenger emerged at the time and Massie easily won reelection. This cycle, Trump put the full weight of his political operation behind Gallrein, even saying at one rally that he wanted “a warm body” to run against Massie.
The defeat follows other losses by Republican figures who had crossed Trump, including Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and several Indiana state legislators.
Elsewhere in Kentucky, Rep. Andy Barr easily won the Republican nomination for the open Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell. Trump endorsed Barr over former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron and persuaded another candidate to leave the race.
Massie’s defeat is likely to be read across the party as another warning to Republicans considering open resistance to Trump. The spending in the race surpassed the previous House primary record set in 2024 and turned a rural Kentucky district into a national test of loyalty inside the GOP.
Massie, a 55-year-old farmer, had campaigned on his independence despite the pressure. His differences with Trump extended beyond party procedure and spending fights to foreign policy, including criticism of the U.S. conflict with Iran and its economic effects, such as rising gas prices.
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