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Kentucky U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie lost his Republican House primary Tuesday in another test of President Donald Trump’s power over his party after he handpicked challenger and ultimate winner Ed Gallrein to oust the incumbent.
The Associated Press, CBS News, CNN and NBC News each projected the Trump-backed Gallrein as the winner on Tuesday.
The result showed the president’s persisting influence over GOP voters, adding to a growing number of Trump-backed primary challengers to defeat Republican lawmakers who angered him in his second term, including Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana and several Indiana state senators who defied him on redistricting.
Massie, who has served in Congress since 2012, is one of the last and most outspoken holdouts. 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. Still, he tried to convince voters that they could be both for him and for Trump.
In the evening, after the primary result was known, Massie took the stage before a fired-up crowd that cheered and chanted throughout his speech, including slogans such as “no more wars” and “America First!”
‘A yearning … for principles over party’: Massie
“We stirred up something. There is a yearning in this country for someone who will vote for principles over party,” Massie said.
He also criticized unwavering fealty to Trump in Congress: “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.”
Gallrein delivered a shorter, more muted speech at his victory party in Covington, Ky., where he first thanked Trump for his support and leadership.
Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, ran on his military service and loyalty to the president. He accused Massie of forsaking Trump and the party.
Gallrein is expected to win the general election against Democrat Melissa Strange in the deeply red district.
Presidential visit to Kentucky
The president visited Kentucky to boost Gallrein in March.
The primary turned white hot in the final stretch of the campaign as Massie recruited a phalanx of other Republicans, including Rep. Lauren Boebert, in an attempt to show voters that they could support both him and Trump.
Massie’s challenge was to win over voters who generally think favourably of Trump, the same man telling them to vote for Gallrein. It was not the first Republican primary Trump has tried to sway, but Massie’s overt rebelliousness has been a particular challenge to the president.
Trump ratcheted up his social media attacks on Massie, calling him “an obstructionist and a fool,” and Gallrein shared a stage with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Monday.
Gallrein embraced the role Trump gave him and focused his pitch to voters on his personal history and unwavering loyalty to the president.
Also Tuesday, Republicans statewide chose U.S. Rep. Andy Barr as their nominee to replace Mitch McConnell, the longtime U.S. Senate leader.
In a contest representing a generational changing of the guard for the party, Barr, who was endorsed by Trump, bested Daniel Cameron, a former state attorney general who leaned into his Christianity on the campaign trail.
