Breaking: Thomas Massie Loses to Trump-Backed Ed Gallrein in Hotly Contested Primary
In Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District GOP primary,rep. Thomas Massie-an incumbent who previously polled ahead-lost to Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein by about a 9-point margin,according to NBC News. Gallrein’s support was described as having grown through the month, with late surveys showing him overtaking Massie.
The article also highlights that the contest was exceptionally expensive, with PAC spending topping $25 million, and profiles the political contrast between the candidates. It notes that Massie has voted against multiple Trump-aligned priorities and references specific votes,including opposition to a continuing resolution during a government shutdown and support for a War Powers Resolution aimed at ending combat operations in Iran.
President Donald Trump publicly attacked Massie in posts and remarks, arguing Massie votes against the party and endorsing Gallrein as a true “America First” choice. Massie is described as having been elected in 2012 and winning the 2024 primary with a large majority, after which he ran unopposed or nearly unopposed in the general election. The piece uses these details to frame Massie’s defeat as part of a broader pattern of Trump-backed challengers unseating Republicans in primary contests.
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky became the latest Republican incumbent to fall in the midterm primaries, losing to President Donald Trump-backed Ed Gallrein.
Gallrein led Massie by approximately a 9 percentage point margin on Tuesday night, NBC News reported.
Massie — who voted against some of Trump’s highest-profile legislation, including the Big Beautiful Bill last summer — had been leading in the race, based on polling, as recently as April, but multiple surveys released this month showed Gallrein moving ahead in the contest.
The race was the most expensive House primary race in U.S. history, with PAC spending topping $25 million.
KY-04 GOP PRIMARY
🟥 Ed Gallrein: 48.3% (+10.6)
🟥 Thomas Massie: 43.1% (-3.7)
⬜️ Not sure: 7.6%(+/- shift vs April 6)
——
With leaners
🟥 Ed Gallrein: 52.8%
🟥 Thomas Massie: 45.1%@QuantusInsights | 5/11-12 | 908 LVhttps://t.co/7wib1eHCh3 pic.twitter.com/Yvok1mlGd1— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) May 13, 2026
At a rally in Kentucky in March, Trump noted that Massie also voted against a continuing resolution to keep the government open last fall.
The Kentucky lawmaker also voted for a War Powers Resolution in March, primarily supported by Democrats, to force Trump to end combat operations in Iran.
🚨 JUST IN: Rep. Thomas Massie vs Trump-endorsed Ed Gallrein GOP PRIMARY poll
🔴 Ed Gallrein: 52.8% (+7.7)
🔴 Thomas Massie: 45.1%
🟡 Unsure: 2.1%
(With leaners)The primary is this coming TUESDAY@QuantusInsights | 5/11-12 | N=908LV pic.twitter.com/JmtKCcSLpz
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 13, 2026
In a post Sunday, Trump wrote that Massie “is the Worst ‘Republican’ Congressman in History, voting against Tax Cuts, the Wall, Law Enforcement, and in favor of the Transgender Mutilization of our Children, Men playing in Women’s Sports, and so many more horrible things.”
“The Great People of Kentucky are wise to Massie — He only votes against the Republican Party, making life very easy for the Radical Left,” the president added.
“The incredible people of Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District gave us a mandate to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. And the person that will help us do that is Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Fifth Generation Kentucky Farmer, Captain Ed Gallrein, a true America First Patriot,” Trump said.
The president told reporters Tuesday, “Thomas Massie is a terrible congressman, he’s been a terrible congressman from day one. Dealing with him is just horrible. I don’t think he’s a Republican, I think he’s actually a Dumbocrat, he’s not a libertarian, you know, sometimes they say he’s a, he’s really a Dumbocrat. He votes against us all the time.”
🚨 JUST IN: President Trump goes BALLISTIC on Rep. Thomas Massie while Kentucky voters storm the polls in the KY-04 primary
“Thomas Massie is a terrible congressman, he’s been a terrible congressman from day one. Dealing with him is just a horrible, I don’t think he’s a… pic.twitter.com/KkRPJo4cEV
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 19, 2026
Regarding his high-profile votes against Trump, Massie told ABC affiliate WHAS-TV last week, “It’s a question of whether you can have even the slight bit of a dissenting vote on any day at all. Because I vote with the party 90 percent of the time.”
Massie was first elected to Congress in 2012.
He won the Republican primary for Kentucky’s 4th congressional district in 2024 with 76 percent of the vote and the general election, in which Democrats did not field a candidate, with over 99 percent of the tally.
Trump has racked up some impressive primary wins, including in Indiana, where five candidates he endorsed defeated GOP incumbent state senators who refused to redraw the state’s congressional map.
In addition, GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who voted to convict Trump during his 2021 impeachment trial, finished third in his primary, losing to Trump-backed GOP Rep. Julia Letlow. She will now advance to a runoff against state Treasurer John Fleming.
Cassidy is the first elected Republican incumbent senator to lose in a primary since 2012.
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