Trump critic Thomas Massie defeated in Kentucky Republican House primary | Republicans
Donald Trump demonstrated his dominance over the Republican party on Tuesday when voters in northern Kentucky rejected maverick congressman Thomas Massie in favor of the US president’s hand-picked rival.
Ed Gallrein, a retired Navy Seal and farmer who was drafted into the race by Trump, defeated the seven-term incumbent in a primary in Kentucky’s fourth congressional district, where the president’s allies sought to test whether opposition could still exist within today’s Republican party.
The elections come as voters in five other states — Pennsylvania, Georgia, Alabama, Oregon and Idaho — head to the polls to choose candidates for the November general election, the biggest primary night of the year so far. Earlier Tuesday, Trump endorsed scandal-plagued Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, who is running for Senate, in a primary runoff against incumbent John Cornyn, infuriating some in his party.
In Kentucky, Massie now joins the ranks of Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Jeff Flake, Mitt Romney and other elected Republicans who have either been removed from office or decided to retire as their party capitulates to Trump.
Over the weekend, Sen. Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump following the Jan. 6 insurrection, lost the primary in Louisiana after supporting the president’s opponent, Julia Letlow.
Massie, a libertarian conservative, has repeatedly broken with the president over military action against Iran, government spending and the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. He insisted for months that Kentucky Republicans valued independence over obedience. Instead, voters in the deeply conservative fourth congressional district appeared to conclude that loyalty to Trump was more important.
For months, Trump had treated the contest as a personal vendetta.
He branded Massie a “retard,” “crazy” and a “loser,” sent top advisers Chris LaCivita and Tony Fabrizio to form a super political action committee against him, and even traveled to Kentucky himself for a rally accusing the congresswoman of being “disloyal to the United States.”
Speaking to fans on Tuesday evening, Massie said he had called Gallrein to accept.
“We have always acted with dignity and will remain that way,” he said.
Gallrein campaigned almost entirely as a loyal foot soldier to the president’s agenda. He accused Massie of suffering from “Trump instability syndrome” and vowed to “stand shoulder to shoulder” with the White House.
The Hill website reported that Kentucky’s fourth congressional district has become the most expensive House primary battle in history. Quoting figures from AdImpact This represents $25.6 million spent on television, radio and digital advertising.
“Not only is this the most expensive. This thing lasted longer than Vietnam,” Massie said. “Why was this race so expensive? Because they decided to buy the seat.”
Gallrein portrayed Massie as a politician who has distanced himself from Trump’s Make America Great Again movement despite benefiting from it politically for years. Super Pac Maga Kentucky, which supports Gallrein, has flooded the district with attack ads accusing Massie of siding with Democrats and obstructing the president’s agenda.
Massie argued that Trump was defending the same principles he once stood for, opposing endless wars, runaway budget deficits and government secrecy. But his message was having an increasingly difficult time competing with the emotional power of Trump’s support in the sprawling region that stretches from Cincinnati’s southern suburbs to the Appalachian foothills.
Gallrein will now enter the general election as the overwhelming favorite in a district that hasn’t elected a Democrat in two decades.
Meanwhile, Trump-backed representative Andy Barr easily won the contested Republican Senate primary in Kentucky to replace longtime incumbent Mitch McConnell, the retiring former Senate majority leader.
