US Rep. Thomas Massie loses Kentucky GOP primary to Ed Gallrein in another victory for Trump
HEBRON, Kentucky: Kentucky US Rep. Thomas Massie lost his Republican House primary Tuesday in another test of President Donald Trump’s power over his party after he handpicked challenger and ultimate winner Ed Gallrein to oust the incumbent.
The result showed the president’s persisting influence over GOP voters and added to a growing number of Trump-backed primary challengers to defeat Republican lawmakers who angered him in his second term, including Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana and several Indiana state senators who defied him on redistricting.
Massie, who has served in Congress since 2012, is one of the last and most outspoken holdouts. He pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, criticized the war in Iran and voted against the president’s signature tax legislation last year. Still, he tried to convince voters that they could be for both him and Trump.
In the evening, after the primary result was known, Massie took the stage before a fired-up crowd that cheered and chanted throughout his speech, including slogans such as “no more wars” and “America First!”
