{"id":2475055,"date":"2025-08-15T10:12:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T14:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/thomas-massie-extremely-vulnerable-to-gop-primary-challenge-poll-shows-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T10:13:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T14:13:09","slug":"thomas-massie-extremely-vulnerable-to-gop-primary-challenge-poll-shows-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/thomas-massie-extremely-vulnerable-to-gop-primary-challenge-poll-shows-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Thomas Massie \u2018extremely vulnerable\u2019 to GOP primary challenge, poll shows &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthomas-massie-extremely-vulnerable-to-gop-primary-challenge-poll-shows-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2475055&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is considered highly vulnerable to a GOP primary challenge according to internal Republican polling. Massie, known as a fiscal conservative and GOP maverick, has drawn criticism from former President Donald Trump after refusing to support Trump&#8217;s significant tax cut legislation over concerns about increasing federal debt. Trump&#8217;s camp and a pro-Trump super PAC have actively worked against Massie,spending significant funds on ad campaigns that have negatively affected his favorability and re-election prospects.<\/p>\n<p>The poll shows Massie&#8217;s approval rating dropping from 52% to 39%, and his likelihood of re-election falling from 41% to 30%, marking him as vulnerable in the upcoming 2026 GOP primary. Key Republican voter groups, including conservatives, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/americans-remember-the-48th-annual-march-for-life\/\" title=\"Americans remember the 48th annual March for Life\">pro-life advocates<\/a>, evangelicals, and seniors, show low support for Massie&#8217;s re-election.Trump&#8217;s influence remains strong among primary voters, with 57% more likely to back candidates he endorses.<\/p>\n<p>Massie acknowledges tension with Trump but emphasizes his independence, criticizing both extreme opposition and unquestioning support of Trump within the party. He has also sparked controversy within Republican ranks by questioning U.S.military and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-biden-business-dealings-likely-tied-to-us-posture-toward-ukraine-ramaswamy\/\" title=\"Ramaswamy suggests Hunter Biden&#039;s business dealings are probably connected to US stance on Ukraine.\">foreign policy decisions related<\/a> to Israel and Iran. Massie&#8217;s positions and actions have made him a target for significant opposition within his own party,contributing to his precarious political standing.  <\/p>\n<div id=\"ld-4686-3758\"><\/div>\n<p><script>(function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:14832835450050406,size:[0, 0],id:\"ld-4686-3758\"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/cdn2.decide.dev\/_js\/ajs.js\";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,\"script\",\"ld-ajs\");<\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Thomas Massie &lsquo;extremely vulnerable&rsquo; to GOP primary challenge, poll shows<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2202140\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) could lose his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">House<\/a> seat to a GOP challenger due to bucking President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Donald Trump<\/a>&rsquo;s agenda, according to internal Republican polling.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Massie, a fiscal conservative viewed as a GOP maverick, drew Trump&rsquo;s ire earlier this year when he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3418852\/house-passes-trump-one-big-beautiful-bill-tax-cuts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">refused to back<\/a> the president&rsquo;s marquee &ldquo;big, beautiful bill,&rdquo; which was signed into law in July,  over concerns it would increase federal debt.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3500617\/rubio-latest-job-vance-partner\/\">Rubio&#8217;s latest job: Vance partner<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3500209\/republicans-redistricting-split-california-follows-texas-gerrymandering\/\">Redistricting splits GOP as California follows Texas on partisan gerrymandering<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/magazine-washington-briefing\/3496336\/congress-members-prison-reelection-chris-collins-jesse-jackson-jr\/\">The Congress to prison to Congress pipeline<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Trump subsequently called for a primary challenge in Massie&rsquo;s district, <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/115029706768964450\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">sharing<\/a> a McLaughlin &amp; Associates poll from his Truth Social account on Thursday that indicated the Kentucky lawmaker could be ousted from his seat, as his favorability rating has fallen to 43%, down from 54% in June.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Standing with Democrats and voting against President Trump&rsquo;s tax cuts and policies has put Thomas Massie at odds with the Republican base,&rdquo; the poll stated. &ldquo;Three-in-five primary voters (57%) would be more likely to vote for a candidate who is endorsed and supported by President Trump.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Massie acknowledged tensions with Trump during an<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=26s5N2Y_IZg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"> interview<\/a> with podcaster and comedian Theo Von in late June, blaming fallouts over his refusal to cozy up to the president.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been on his good side and I&rsquo;ve been on his bad side. And it seems like every couple of years it flips,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s two forms of Trump derangement syndrome, though,&rdquo; Massie continued. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s the kind where you hate him so much, it&rsquo;s irrational. And even if he&rsquo;s for something you support, you&rsquo;d still be against him &hellip; [and] there&rsquo;s the other version of Trump derangement syndrome, which is you love him so much, that when he goes against something he said he would do or he does something that&rsquo;s against your principles, you change your own principles to support him.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I try not to have either of the Trump derangements,&rdquo; he concluded. &ldquo;Just be for the people of Kentucky.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Massie&rsquo;s overall job approval slipped from 52% to 39% while his &ldquo;re-elect score&rdquo; decreased from 41% in June to 30%, leaving him a &ldquo;low floor to stand on&rdquo; ahead of the 2026 GOP primary, according to the poll.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Incumbents under 40% are considered vulnerable in a primary,&rdquo; the poll reads. &ldquo;His re-elect score is below 30% among <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >critical primary voter segments<\/a>, including conservatives (28%), pro-life voters (29%), evangelicals (27%), voters without a bachelor&rsquo;s degree (27%), and seniors (22%).&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Pollsters credited MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC that reportedly spent $800,000 on a TV ad campaign attacking Massie in his district, for the apparent downturn in public opinion about the incumbent lawmaker.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;MAGA Kentucky&rsquo;s ad campaign has been extremely effective in driving up awareness and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cassidy-hutchinson-cooperating-with-georgia-election-investigation\/\" title=\"Cassidy Hutchinson Cooperating With Georgia Election Investigation\">influencing voter opinions<\/a>,&rdquo; the poll stated. &ldquo;The majority (53%) is less likely to vote for Thomas Massie based on what they have seen, read, or heard.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Aside from targeting Trump over<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/3464424\/house-freedom-caucus-thomas-massie-rand-paul-big-beautiful-bill-improvements\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"> spending concerns<\/a> due to the &ldquo;big, beautiful bill,&rdquo; Massie has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3483347\/thomas-massie-doj-hiding-strawman-epstein-victims-files\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">expressed concern<\/a> that the president&rsquo;s allies at the Department of Justice are concealing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3472397\/thomas-massie-ro-khanna-house-vote-complete-epstein-files\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">evidence<\/a> in the Epstein case, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3478594\/johnson-shakes-head-massie-epstein-files-bless-his-heart\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">prompting backlash<\/a> from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Massie has also<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3450290\/thomas-massie-no-imminent-threat-iran-attack-trump-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"> sparked controversy<\/a> in the Republican camp for questioning U.S. ties to Israel and suggesting Trump superseded presidential authorities when he authorized military attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, which were backed by Israel.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) stands in the House chamber on Jan. 3, 2025, on the first day of the 119th Congress. To his right, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) holds her grandchild, Tyler. (Graeme Jennings\/Washington Examiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3478445\/epstein-files-paralyze-house-johnson-cancel-votes-recess\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>EPSTEIN FILES PARALYZE THE HOUSE, FORCING JOHNSON TO CANCEL VOTES AND START RECESS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Massie&rsquo;s<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3496543\/pro-israel-billionaires-thomas-massie-campaign-ads\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"> positioning on Israel<\/a> made him the target of MAGA KY. The super PAC spent $1.56 million between June 27 and Aug. 4 on TV and digital advertisements opposing his reelection.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The poll was taken from Aug. 10 to 12 among 500 likely Republican voters from Massie&rsquo;s 4th Congressional District. Its margin of error was plus or minus 4.4%.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2202140\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2202140\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thomas Massie faces strong GOP primary challenge, poll shows<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2475056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24051534637824-scaled-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[43045,32773,61333,34888,33196],"class_list":["post-2475055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-election-poll","tag-gop-primary","tag-kentucky-politics","tag-political-challenge","tag-thomas-massie"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24051534637824-scaled-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2475055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2475055"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2475055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2475059,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2475055\/revisions\/2475059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2475056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2475055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2475055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2475055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}