Anti-Trump Republican Faces Devastating Election News After Opposing President Trump, Losing as He Puts His Republic...
Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie is fighting for his political life less than two weeks before his hotly contested GOP primary. Massie’s frequent rebellions against President Donald Trump and the Republican Party writ large are catching up to him as he faces his toughest reelection in over a decade.
For years, local Republicans have been itching to remove Massie because they believe he has been more concerned with spending bills, foreign conflicts, and the Jeffrey Epstein files than with prioritizing Kentucky.
Now that the president is finally leading former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein as Massie’s primary opponent, many Republicans see this as their best chance to defeat him since he was elected in 2012.
“He’s a Democrat in a Republican hat. … He takes credit for stuff that he says he’s a part of, but everybody knows he’s not,” said Randy Berling, a Republican from nearby Melbourne.
When asked who he planned to vote for in the May 19 primary, “Not this guy,” he said, adding that “everyone I know” is saying the same thing.
A few public polls of the campaign reveal that Massie is ahead of Gallrein by a modest amount, which suggests that Trump’s support has certain limits.
Gallrein, a farmer and previous state Senate candidate, has never run for federal office before and doesn’t have a lot of name recognition in the district. Some people who don’t like Massie are frightened that they won’t be able to get rid of him now or ever.
“In my heart of hearts, I think Massie may win,” said Steve Frank, a former commissioner of Covington, a major Cincinnati suburb and the largest city in northern Kentucky, who has grown critical of the incumbent over Israel and local matters and is backing Gallrein. “And if he can withstand this, who’s coming after him?”
The Boone County Republican Party recently voted 50-28 to uphold a rule requiring neutrality in contested primaries. The move has gone viral on social media as Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie is facing a contested primary election on May 19th.
President Donald Trump is backing former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein in the Republican primary in Kentucky’s 4th District — a revenge mission after Massie pushed to release the Jeffrey Epstein files and opposed the president on other key votes.
“Massie is a complete and total disaster as a congressman and, frankly, as a human being,” Trump said last month at an event in the district where Gallrein joined him onstage.
In areas like Grant County, where the president won with more than 80% of the vote in the 2024 election, Massie hopes to make Trump less of an afterthought as he battles for his political survival.
His longtime supporters must have faith in this endeavor. Massie, who was first elected in 2012, was able to present his case for why he still deserves it at last week’s GOP dinner, where guests gathered inside a special events barn and chose from a buffet of beef and potatoes, green beans, and salad.
“I read the bills. I try to make the decision based on what is best. I try to do the things that I campaigned on,” Massie told them. “And sometimes it means voting no.”
Massie then took a swipe at Gallrein, who had been invited and expected to speak at the dinner but canceled at the last minute. A spokesperson said he had two funerals to attend.
“The problem with Washington, D.C., is that you got people that stand at podiums like this and make you all kinds of promises, and then they go up there and go along to get along, and they forget about all the promises,” Massie said. “I’m running against a guy whose main thing is he will promise you he will go along to get along. I don’t think we need a rubber stamp.”
In response to questions for this article, Gallrein spokesperson Alexandra Wilkes issued a statement that read: “Captain Gallrein is honored that President Trump has been so supportive of his campaign to defeat every liberal’s favorite Republican, Thomas Massie.”
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