Trump-Backed Candidate Defeats Representative Thomas Massie in Kentucky Primary

Ed Gallrein, a Navy SEAL, defeated seven-term Representative Thomas Massie in Kentucky’s Fourth Congressional District primary. The margin was reported as ten points. Gallrein received an endorsement from President Trump. He did not participate in debates and ran a short campaign that featured a fifteen-second advertisement with a Trump voice-over.

A senior White House adviser stated before the vote that keeping party members aligned sometimes requires removing dissenters. The adviser specifically referenced Massie as the next target. President Trump posted a video from the Oval Office describing Massie as the worst congressman in the country’s history and calling for his removal.

Trump-endorsed candidates also prevailed in primaries in Louisiana and Indiana. Those results ended the careers of Senator Bill Cassidy and other legislators who had opposed the president. Massie had voted against Trump’s tax-and-immigration bill and allied with Democrats on certain foreign policy matters. He had previously voted against foreign aid to Israel without facing primary consequences.