Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky lost to a primary challenger backed by President Donald Trump on Tuesday, denying the libertarian rebel an eighth term in Congress and reaffirming the president’s dominance of the Republican Party.
The Associated Press declared Ed Gallrein the victor shortly before 8 p.m. when he held an almost eight-point lead over the incumbent.
Gallrein presented himself as a Trump loyalist in his victory speech, saying, “now my focus is on advancing the president’s and the party’s agenda to put America first.”
In his concession speech, Massie argued his brand of politics has a future among young voters and that the exorbitant level of spending needed to remove him from office proves the popularity of his positions.
“We stirred up something. There is a yearning in this country for somebody who will vote for principles over party,” he said. “You all don’t like bullies and you don’t tolerate them.”
He continued, “Why did the race get so expensive? Because they decided to buy the seat, and it got real expensive for them.”
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Massie was first elected to represent his Northern Kentucky district in 2012 at the height of the tea party movement and conservative discontent with President Barack Obama’s fiscal policy.
The Kentucky lawmaker has distinguished himself as a stubborn, libertarian figure in Congress, consistently voting against large spending packages and challenging multiple administrations’ authority to conduct military operations.
During the second Trump administration, Massie has bucked the party line in defiance of Trump on key votes.
He voted against the July 2025 “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which extended Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, arguing it would worsen budget deficits.
Massie has also voted to deprive Trump of the emergency authority he previously used to impose tariffs and has introduced resolutions challenging Trump’s use of force against Venezuela and Iran.
He butted heads with Trump as the author and principal Republican advocate of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, legislation that compelled the Department of Justice to release its files on now-deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump was initially opposed to releasing the files before ultimately calling for the passage of the legislation and signing the bill into law after Congress approved it almost unanimously.
Trump endorsed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, in October 2025, and rallied with him in March 2026 in Hebron, Kentucky.
Massie’s primary came on the heels of Trump targeting several Republicans he believes slighted him in the past.
In early May, the majority of the Indiana state senators who rejected Trump-backed redistricting lost their primaries.
More recently, on May 16, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the last remaining U.S. senator who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, came in third place in his primary.
Just hours before polls closed in Kentucky, Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his primary challenge against incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn, saying Cornyn “was not supportive of me when times were tough.”
Cornyn previously expressed skepticism about Trump running in 2024.
Massie’s 2026 House primary was the most expensive in American history, with over $32 million spent on ads.
On Monday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth campaigned on Gallrein’s behalf against Massie. White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller also urged Kentucky voters to oppose Massie.
There were a few Republicans who campaigned for the incumbent.
Republican Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Victoria Spartz of Indiana, and Warren Davidson of Ohio all campaigned in Kentucky for Massie.
All were relatively immune from political consequences for their decision, as Davidson and Spartz had already won their primaries, and the Colorado filing deadline had already passed, protecting Boebert from a primary challenge.
Trump called on Saturday for a primary challenger to take on Boebert, saying he would then withdraw his endorsement from the representative, whom he called “weak-minded.”
Boebert stated on X that she was “not mad or offended” and that she remains “America First, America Always, and MAGA.”
The primary race quickly turned into a debate over whether Massie’s record in the House is genuinely conservative or not.
Massie told the Daily Signal in a statement before primary day, “I will win this race because my constituents know I am consistently America First. I backed the SAVE Act, voted to secure the border by funding the wall and DHS, and I will never stop fighting to drain the Swamp. Whether on the campaign trail or in Congress, I don’t hide from my record, I show up, I explain my votes, and I answer directly to the people I represent.”
However, the opposing campaign had a different view, highlighting Massie’s rifts with the president, as well as Trump’s endorsement of Gallrein.
Gallrein senior adviser Tim Murtaugh told the Daily Signal in a statement, “President Trump has given Ed Gallrein his strongest endorsement in this race while Thomas Massie has made it his business to stick his finger in the president’s eye at every opportunity. Massie has aggressively tried to derail the America First agenda, voted against major legislative priorities of the administration, speaks about Iran like he wants the mullahs to win, and has become The New York Times’ favorite Republican.”
Murtaugh added, “It is far too late for Massie to try to return to the fold now and it’s a pity that he’s chosen to end his career this way. … The only person Thomas Massie serves is Thomas Massie.”
In the closing act of the campaign, Massie argued he was being targeted by donors offended by his opposition to foreign aid to Israel, whom he referred to as “the Israeli lobby.”
This article has been updated.
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