Trump-backed Gallrein defeats Massie in Kentucky GOP primary
by Seth McLaughlin · The Washington TimesEd Gallrein defeated Rep. Thomas Massie on Tuesday in the most expensive House primary on record, handing President Trump another high-profile victory and cementing the president’s standing as the center of gravity in the Republican Party.
Mr. Trump had personally recruited Mr. Gallrein, a Kentucky farmer and former Navy SEAL officer, to challenge Mr. Massie after growing increasingly frustrated with the congressman’s willingness to break with the president.
The race was called less than two hours after polls closed in the 4th Congressional District.
Mr. Gallrein jumped out to an early lead and never relinquished it. With 95% of the vote counted, Mr. Gallrein had a 55% to 45% lead.
“God is good,” Mr. Gallrein said in a short victory speech at his election night party. “The winner of the race is not so much Ed Gallrein, but it is the Republicans of Kentucky District 4 and their families, whom I will be a champion for in Washington.”
He also thanked Mr. Trump for his support and his “courageous leadership of our nation at this critical time and juncture in history.”
Mr. Massie, meanwhile, was more long-winded — and defiant in defeat.
“I would have come out sooner and conceded, but it took a while to find Ed Gallrein in Tel Aviv,” he told supporters, alluding to the financial backing his rival received from deep-pocketed pro-Israel donors and outside groups.
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As supporters yelled “2028,” Mr. Massie hinted at a possible presidential run, saying his message energized younger voters fed up with taxpayer money going overseas, global wars, and corporations escaping accountability.
“There is a yearning for someone in this country who will vote for principles over party,” he said. “What happens in 2028?” — triggering chants of “President! President!”
Voters in Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, Oregon and Pennsylvania also went to the polls in races that will help set the table for the battle over governor’s mansions and Congress this fall.
In his push to reshape the party in his image, Mr. Trump notched another victory in the U.S. Senate primary in Kentucky. His preferred pick, Rep. Andy Barr, won the Republican nomination to replace retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, the longtime Republican leader and frequent Trump foil.
He also backed Rep. Barry Moore in the Alabama Senate race and gave his blessing to Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the Georgia gubernatorial race. Mr. Jones advanced to a runoff against billionaire Rick Jackson.
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All three states are at least conservative-leaning, and Kentucky and Alabama are considerably more so. Whoever wins the primaries will be favored in November.
In Kentucky, Mr. Massie drew the ire of Mr. Trump and his allies after helping force the release of the Jeffrey Epstein investigative files, opposing the president’s unilateral military strikes against Iran and voting against both foreign assistance and Mr. Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act over concerns about the soaring national debt.
Some of those stances are consistent with Mr. Massie’s history as a libertarian-leaning conservative. Yet unlike many such House members, Mr. Massie did not alter his course after Mr. Trump became the party standard-bearer.
Despite sagging polls, high gas prices and concerns over the war in Iran, Mr. Trump has proven time and again he is the dominant force in the Republican Party.
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He declared victory again over the weekend after Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of the three remaining Republican senators who voted to convict him for inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, failed to advance to a runoff.
Mr. Trump’s endorsed pick, Rep. Julia Letlow, finished first, and Mr. Cassidy placed third, out of the running.
He also came out on the winning side of recent state Senate races in Indiana, where five of the seven Republicans who refused to support his redistricting push lost their primaries.
Mr. Trump on Tuesday also put his finger on the scale in the coming Texas Senate runoff race, tossing his support behind Attorney General Ken Paxton’s campaign to unseat Sen. John Cornyn.
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In Kentucky, Mr. Trump pushed hard for Mr. Gallrein.
In March, he traveled to the district, praising Mr. Gallrein and criticizing Mr. Massie.
He also derided Mr. Massie in a series of posts on Truth Social, calling him “the worst and most unreliable Republican Congressman in the history of our Country.”
On Tuesday, he said he regretted endorsing Mr. Massie in previous years and called him a “terrible congressman from Day One.”
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Mr. Massie countered by reposting a 2022 endorsement in which Mr. Trump described him as a “conservative warrior” and “first-rate defender of the Constitution.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a rare wartime move for a Pentagon chief, also headlined a rally for Mr. Gallrein on the eve of the election.
Pro-Israel donors, meanwhile, poured millions into the effort to defeat Mr. Massie, who has raised concerns about taxpayer money sent overseas, including to Israel, and about the conduct of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
A Trump-aligned super PAC called MAGA Kentucky raised money from hedge fund manager Paul Singer and a political committee tied to casino mogul and Dallas Mavericks owner Miriam Adelson.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other pro-Israel interest groups spent more than $9 million in the race, while the MAGA Kentucky super PAC spent nearly $7 million more — pushing total ad spending past $32 million and making it the most expensive House primary on record.
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Seth McLaughlin
smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com
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