HEBRON, Ky. — It’s the final stop on President Donald Trump’s revenge tour, at least for now, and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is trying to defy the president in the most expensive primary of all time.
On Tuesday, Republicans in Kentucky’s 4th congressional district will head to the polls and select their nominee for November’s House race: Either Massie, the 14-year incumbent and top Trump foe, or Ed Gallrein, a Trump-endorsed Navy SEAL and farmer.
It’s one of the most competitive, costly and consequential races this cycle, with onlookers across the country watching closely to see if a Trump critic can survive in ruby-red Kentucky and have a place in the Republican Party.
Up to this point, voters have suggested that a Republican in that mold has no place in their party.
On Saturday, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. — one of the three remaining Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump of his impeachment following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol — was boxed out of a primary runoff, after finishing behind two Trump-aligned candidates. And last month, five Indiana state senators lost reelection after the president endorsed against them because they opposed his redistricting push.
Now, Trump is looking at Kentucky to complete his trifecta.
While the Bluegrass State may be the third in a string of contested GOP primaries, Massie says his race is the most important.
“I’m the main event,” Massie told MS NOW at the Capitol last week. “I’m not the last stop or the closing act. I’m the main event.”
This cycle is not the first time Trump has gone after Massie. Notably, Trump torched him in 2020 when the Libertarian-leaning Republican objected to the passage of a COVID-19 relief bill, calling on the GOP to jettison him. Over the years, when asked about the president’s attacks, Massie has said “I have the Trump antibodies,” touting his ability to survive in an increasingly Trumpy Republican Party.
But asked last week if he still has that immunity, Massie was less confident.
“This is a serious, natural infection,” Massie told MS NOW. “We’ll find out.”
He may be onto something.
Massie has emerged as perhaps the Republican member of Congress most loathed by Trump, a product of his willingness to break with the president on a number of issues on a number of occasions. The hatred has only grown over the years — especially in the past 12 months.
Against the president’s wishes, Massie spearheaded the effort to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. He voted against the White House’s signature reconciliation package at every step of the way. And he’s repeatedly tried to rein in the administration’s authority when it comes to the war in Iran.
All three actions have drawn Trump’s ire.
Over the weekend, Trump called Massie “a major Sleazebag,” a “LOSER” and “the worst and most unreliable Republican Congressman in the history of our Country” in a Truth Social post, encouraging Kentucky voters to support Gallrein.
“Kentucky, vote the bum out on Tuesday,” Trump wrote in another post Sunday morning. “We can’t live with this troublemaker for another two years. He is a true negative force!!!”
Asked about the comment on ABC’s “This Week,” Massie embraced the attack.
“I think that’s going to help my fundraising,” he said.
In a sign of the competitiveness of the race, big money and big names are making their way to the northern Kentucky district.
The race is officially the most expensive House primary in history, with more than $21 million in ad spending and reservations, according to AdImpact’s tally last week.
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On Monday, the day before primary day, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will appear alongside Gallrein in Hebron, Kentucky, for an event that will be “a unique chance for the American people to hear from leaders of the America First movement and patriots who share the values that made our Nation great,” according to America First Works, which is hosting the event.
As the war in Iran stretches on, and Trump’s search for an offramp continues, the Pentagon chief’s decision to join a House GOP primary candidate on the road has turned heads — including Massie’s.
Over the weekend, the likes of Reps Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, and Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes campaigned with Massie.
The full-court press comes as the race, according to recent polls, is either candidate’s to take, with Massie and Gallrein trading the lead in different surveys.
For Trump, however, the outcome is personal.
Trump endorsed Gallrein even before he jumped into the race in October, selecting the political newcomer as his choice to oust Massie.
On Tuesday, Trump is betting that voters in the Bluegrass State will put an end to Massie’s political career once and for all.
It’s not a misplaced wager, especially after Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., Trump’s handpicked candidate to challenge Cassidy, easily came in first in Saturday’s GOP primary, and John Fleming, a former member of Congress, a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and a deputy chief of staff during Trump’s first administration, came in second.
The outcome denied Cassidy a chance to advance to a runoff, propelling Trump into Kentucky with some momentum.
Beyond Massie, he’s already plotting his next target.
On Saturday, Trump floated a primary challenger to Boebert, after the MAGA congresswoman appeared alongside Massie on the campaign trail.
Trump has sparred with Boebert in the past, particularly when she was one of four Republicans — alongside Massie — to sign a discharge petition to force a vote on the release of the files pertaining to Jeffrey Epstein. But she’s also been a staunch supporter of the president’s for years, riding on his coattails throughout her nascent political career.
But the call for a primary challenger — as a response to her support for Massie — underscores that the president’s support can turn on a dime.
“Boebert is campaigning for the Worst ‘Republican’ Congressman in the History of our Country, Thomas Massie, of the Great Commonwealth of Kentucky, and anybody who can be that dumb deserves a good Primary fight!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Even though I long ago endorsed Boebert, if the right person came along, it would be my Honor to withdraw that Endorsement, and endorse a good and proper alternative,” he added. “Just let me know, or announce your Candidacy, and I will be there for you!”
Mychael Schnell is a reporter for MS NOW.
Syedah Asghar
Syedah Asghar covers Congress for MS NOW.