Trump targets Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky’s record-spending primary

HEBRON, KY – Six states from coast to coast are holding primaries Tuesday on one of the busiest and potentially most important days of the 2026 midterm calendar.

Voters in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon and Pennsylvania will cast ballots in Democratic and Republican primaries as well as under-ballot races for the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate and Governor. The nominating showdowns will kick off this fall’s midterm elections, in which Republicans will defend their slim Senate and razor-thin House majorities.

Meanwhile, some of Tuesday’s most high-profile primary ballot box showdowns will serve as the latest tests of President Donald Trump’s immense grip on the Republican Party and the strength of his support in the GOP nominating races.

Two weeks after unseating five state senators who opposed his push for congressional redistricting in the Indiana primary, and two weeks after helping unseat Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy (as the senator who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial five and a half years ago lost his bid for reelection), Trump has a new target: Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie.

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Massie, who represented Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District in the northeastern part of the red-leaning state for 14 years, has long been one of Trump’s most vocal GOP critics in Congress. The libertarian-minded lawmaker has repeatedly targeted the president over foreign policy, including the Iran war and unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel. He also gave Trump trouble for successfully pushing for the release of government files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump repeatedly targeted Massie in social media posts in the closing days of the primary campaign, praising Kentucky farmer and former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, whom the president supports, as a “great man” and a “great patriot.”

Gallrein gained last-minute support and additional firepower by meeting with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at an event on the eve of the primaries.

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (R) joins former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein on the eve of the Kentucky primary on May 18, 2026, in Hebron, Kentucky. Gallrein is backed by President Donald Trump in his primary challenge to Rep. Thomas Massie for the GOP nomination in the state’s fourth congressional district. (Jessica Sonkin/Fox News)

The president said in a video posted on Truth Social on Monday that he hoped Kentucky voters would “dismiss” Massie and that “we are up against the worst congressman in the history of the country.”

Trump’s social media taunts could backfire, Massie said in an interview with Fox News Digital on the eve of the primary.

“This shows that he’s losing sleep and his reputation is at stake. He really shouldn’t have been involved in this race,” Massie said.

The race became the most expensive race in House history in terms of ad spending, spending more than $32 million, according to nationally recognized ad tracking firm AdImpact.

Most of this money was spent by Trump’s allies and pro-Israel groups.

Defending his stance on Israel, Massie said, “The thing is, I have nothing against Israel. I just never voted for foreign aid. I meant it when I said America first. I don’t vote for foreign aid to Egypt, Syria, Ukraine. I have an impeccable record on that, and I’m not going to ruin it by sending foreign aid to one country.”

The race attracted great attention across the country.

“This is basically a national race right now, the most expensive race primary in congressional history, and that’s because, you know, I’m there, I’m getting things done. I released the Epstein files, I’m introducing legislation on the farm bill, it’s passed in the house, and they want to shut me down,” Massie emphasized.

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But speaking to Fox News Digital, Gallrein accused Massie of “running against President Trump and the agenda that the Republican Party is pushing.”

The primary winner will be considered the overwhelming favorite in the general election in a district where Trump holds 36 points in his 2024 White House win.

Trump’s support is also at stake in the Kentucky Republican Senate primary in the race for retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former GOP leader in the chamber.

The 11 Republican candidates include Rep. Andy Barr, who recently received Trump’s endorsement, and former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a former McConnell aide who is the GOP’s 2023 gubernatorial nominee. Seven Democrats, including 2020 Senate candidate Amy McGrath, are running for the Democratic nomination.

Here’s a look at other key races to watch on Tuesday.

Georgia

Trump’s endorsement powers will also be tested in the GOP gubernatorial primary in the southeastern battleground of Georgia.

The president is backing Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the race to replace popular conservative Gov. Brian Kemp, who is term-limited.

Jones is considered one of the two frontrunners in the race, along with healthcare executive and billionaire businessman Rick Jackson, who launched his campaign in February and has spent more than $80 million of his own money on behalf of his bid.

State Attorney General Chris Carr and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger are also among the candidates.

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former Republican Gov. Geoff Duncan, former state Sen. Jason Esteves, state Rep. Derrick Jackson and former state labor commissioner and former DeKalb County CEO Mike Thurmond are among the candidates seeking the Democratic nomination.

Trump remains neutral in the competitive and combustible Republican Senate primaries.

Representatives Mike Collins and Buddy Carter and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, the son of University of Georgia head football coaching legend Vince Dooley, who is strongly endorsed by Kemp, are frontrunners in a crowded field of candidates.

University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., aims to defeat Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., in November’s midterm elections. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/AP Photo)

The winner of the GOP nomination will challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. The first-term senator has been heavily targeted by Republicans who see him as the most vulnerable Democrat in the chamber seeking re-election this year. But Ossoff has built an extremely formidable war chest.

Alabama

The president is backing Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama as a Trump ally, and two other Republicans are seeking their party’s nomination for governor in the race to replace term-limited GOP Gov. Kay Ivey. Among the candidates for the Democratic nomination is former U.S. Senator Doug Jones.

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Meanwhile, only three of Alabama’s seven congressional districts will hold primaries on Tuesday. Elections in four other districts are being postponed until this summer following a landmark Supreme Court decision that encouraged Republicans in a handful of southern states to redraw congressional district lines.