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Trump scores major victory with Massie’s primary defeat in Kentucky

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by Sarah Fortinsky - 05/19/26 7:41 PM ET

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by Sarah Fortinsky - 05/19/26 7:41 PM ET

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Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is projected to lose his Kentucky House primary race to President Trump-endorsed challenger Ed Gallrein, according to Decision Desk HQ, a major victory for the president in his bid to oust Republican lawmakers who openly defy him.

Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL and farmer, was projected to win the GOP primary in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, ending Massie’s 14-year tenure in the deep-red seat.

Trump recruited Gallrein to run against Massie after the incumbent congressman broke with the president on a series of high-profile issues.

Tuesday’s results mark the latest example of Trump’s firm hold on the Republican Party following the president’s successful ouster of Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) in the Louisiana Senate primary on Saturday.

“He was a bad guy. He deserves to lose,” Trump told reporters at the White House’s Congressional Picnic Tuesday.

The primary garnered national attention and grew increasingly bitter in its final weeks, with political organizations pouring millions of dollars into the race and prominent national figures descending on Kentucky to campaign for the candidates.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew to the state on Monday to campaign for Gallrein, a trip the Pentagon said Hegseth took in his personal capacity. Trump, meanwhile, renewed his call Monday for Massie to be “thrown out of office.”

The contest also shattered the record for the most expensive House primary in history, according to AdImpact, which reported $25.6 million spent on television, radio and digital advertising.

Federal Election Commission (FEC) data — which includes advertising along with other campaign expenses — showed the candidates and outside groups working to influence the race spent roughly $35 million combined.

Massie’s campaign outspent Gallrein’s, $5.8 million to $2.6 million, according to FEC data. But super PACs heavily favored the GOP challenger, spending more than $16.4 million to boost Gallrein compared to roughly $10.1 million backing the incumbent.

The contentious faceoff featured vicious and personal television ads, including some that used AI-generated “deepfakes” to undermine candidates’ conservative credentials or loyalty to Trump.

One pro-Gallrein super PAC released an ad falsely accusing Massie of being “in a throuple” with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), while a pro-Massie group aired an AI-generated ad depicting Gallrein abandoning Trump on a battlefield.

Massie, a libertarian Republican, has long had an independent streak but found himself increasingly at odds with Trump this past year on issues of outsized significance to the president.

He helped lead the push for the administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, frequently criticized the party’s foreign policy approach and voted against Trump’s signature tax and spending legislation, citing concerns about increased deficit spending.

Massie, however, defended his conservative credentials throughout the campaign and argued constituents appreciated his willingness to break with the party on issues important to him.

“Dogs don’t bark at parked cars. I’m the only car moving,” Massie told The Hill in an interview last week.

“A lot of people have been intimidated into a monolithic position and even changing their positions on foreign policy and FISA and things like that,” he continued. “They’re just glad somebody didn’t change his views based on the whims of this administration.

Updated at 8:46 p.m. EDT. NewsNation’s Kellie Meyer contributed to this report.

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