{"id":2578524,"date":"2026-03-11T09:09:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T13:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iran-war-gives-massie-a-primary-opening-as-trump-visits-district\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T09:10:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T13:10:53","slug":"iran-war-gives-massie-a-primary-opening-as-trump-visits-district","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iran-war-gives-massie-a-primary-opening-as-trump-visits-district\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran war gives Massie a primary opening as Trump visits district"},"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\">22<\/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%2Firan-war-gives-massie-a-primary-opening-as-trump-visits-district%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=2578524&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>The piece explains how the ongoing Iran war debate creates a political opening for Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky\u2019s 4th District GOP primary. Massie, a libertarian-leaning nine-term congressman, has long opposed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/three-republicans-vote-against-resolution-that-could-call-for-american-troops-in-russia-conflict\/\" title=\"Three ...s Vote Against Resolution that Could Call for American Troops in Russia Conflict\">interventionist foreign policy<\/a> and pushed a House War Powers resolution to force Congress to debate war objectives so troops can come home rather than be drawn into a \u201cforever war.\u201d The Iran escalation has become a wedge issue in his primary contest against Ed Gallrein, a Trump-endorsed challenger who supports the strikes and argues Massie limits presidential authority. trump\u2019s visit to Massie\u2019s district is part of the broader rivalry, though Massie will not attend the event.<\/p>\n<p>Public opinion adds complexity: polls cited in the article show strong MAGA-aligned support for the Iran strikes, suggesting the war could help Gallrein among Republican voters, while Massie frames himself as an independent who keeps his word and challenges costly policies. The race is portrayed as a test of loyalty to Trump within the party, wiht May 19-the primary date-looming as a crucial moment.  <\/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\">Iran war gives Massie a primary opening as Trump drops into his district<\/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\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2528557\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/thomas-massie\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"17668\">Thomas Massie<\/a> (R-KY) is in the fight of his political life, but President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a>&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/iran\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"100\">Iran<\/a> war might have given the libertarian gadfly the issue he most wants to contest in a primary election.<\/p>\n<p>Trump would not deliberately help Massie after his remarkably personal attacks against the congressman and even his new wife last month. But Operation Epic Fury has provided Massie, a longtime critic of interventionist foreign policy, with the opportunity to portray himself as an independent representative for Kentucky&rsquo;s 4th Congressional District in Washington, D.C.&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\/4485941\/democrats-running-for-president-2028\/\">The Democrats who could run for president in 2028<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4487312\/virginia-redistrict-ballot-could-still-nixed-voting-experts-say\/\">Virginia redistricting ballot measure could still be struck down after voting, experts say<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4487649\/bennie-thompson-democratic-primary-mississippi-house\/\">Bennie Thompson easily wins Democratic primary for Mississippi House seat<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;What I tell constituents is: Whether you support the war or not, our troops deserve a congressional debate about objectives of the war, so that when they achieve the mission they can come home instead of being enlisted into a forever war with moving goalposts and unrealistic terms of engagement,&rdquo; Massie told the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Massie and Trump&rsquo;s relationship has deteriorated since the start of the president&rsquo;s second term. The nine-term congressman and former engineer has criticized Trump for his penchant for federal spending, particularly through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, before pivoting to his perceived lack of transparency regarding the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jeffrey-epstein\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1860\">Jeffrey Epstein<\/a> files. Now, Massie has set his sights on the U.S.-Israel military offensive against Iran.<\/p>\n<p>Yet it&rsquo;s not going unchallenged. Massie and his Trump-recruited Republican primary opponent, Ed Gallrein, are both using the Iran war as a talking point in their campaigns ahead of the May 19 GOP primary.<\/p>\n<p>For example, Massie introduced a war powers resolution in the House last week and told his supporters, &ldquo;If I weren&rsquo;t in Washington, it&rsquo;s possible Congress would escape its constitutional duties.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not the only Republican who campaigned on putting America First, I&rsquo;m just the one who&rsquo;s keeping his word,&rdquo; he later wrote on X.<\/p>\n<p>Massie&rsquo;s resolution was voted down, 212-219, as was a Senate counterpart introduced by Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tim-kaine\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1134\">Tim Kaine<\/a> (D-VA), 47-53.&nbsp;A second Senate war powers resolution is in the works, according to Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/cory-booker\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"501\">Cory Booker<\/a> (D-NJ).<\/p>\n<p>Gallrein, a farmer and former Navy SEAL captain whom Trump asked to primary Massie, has taken to his own social media accounts to boost the war. Describing himself as &ldquo;a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >career professional military officer<\/a>,&rdquo; Gallrein has said the &ldquo;decisive action, clear objectives, and overwhelming strength save American lives and prevent larger wars, death, and destruction.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our district deserves a congressman who stands with the voters who overwhelmingly support President Trump and the Republican Party,&rdquo; Gallrein said in a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;Thomas Massie, by contrast, is leading the Democrats in limiting the president&rsquo;s authority as the commander in chief to keep our nation and the world safe to set the conditions of peace and prosperity &mdash; just as President [Ronald] Reagan did.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>It remains to be seen whether making the Iran war a wedge issue in his primary election will help or hinder Massie. Multiple recent polls indicate that, while public opinion regarding the mission is split, Republicans, including those who consider themselves MAGA Republicans, approve of the U.S.&rsquo;s intervention.<\/p>\n<p>One published this week from the right-leaning Vandenberg Coalition and TargetPoint found that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/exclusive-more-than-9-in-10-maga-voters-back-operation-epic-fury-poll-finds\/\">more than nine in 10<\/a> self-described &ldquo;MAGA or Trump conservatives&rdquo; approved of the war.<\/p>\n<p>NBC News also published a poll days earlier in which <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/trump-administration\/poll-majority-voters-disapproves-trump-handled-iran-rcna261564\">90%<\/a> of self-identified &ldquo;MAGA-aligned Republicans&rdquo; approved of the strikes, with only 5% saying they did not.<\/p>\n<p>For Shane Noem, chairman of the Kenton County Republican Party, the race is &ldquo;becoming a pick-a-side moment between Trump and Massie.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a long time &rsquo;til May 19, pull up a chair, and grab some popcorn,&rdquo; Noem told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. Kenton County is the largest county by population in Massie&rsquo;s district.<\/p>\n<p>The choice between Trump and Massie will be underscored on Wednesday when the president travels to the congressman&rsquo;s district to give a speech on the economy at Verst Logistics in Hebron, Kentucky. <\/p>\n<p>White House press secretary <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/karoline-leavitt\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11685\">Karoline Leavitt<\/a>, who cannot publicly comment on elections as a federal government employee because of the Hatch Act, sidestepped questions on Tuesday regarding why Trump is traveling to Massie&rsquo;s district.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Why Ohio and why Northern Kentucky?&rdquo; a reporter asked during Leavitt&rsquo;s press briefing.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Well, why not? These are two great states with great Americans,&rdquo; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/there-certainly-is-not-an-open-border-foxs-doocy-takes-it-to-psaki-in-tense-exchange-about-border\/\" title=\"\u2018There Certainly Is Not An Open Border\u2019: Fox\u2019s Doocy Takes It To Psaki In Tense Exchange About Border\">press secretary replied<\/a>. &ldquo;The president will be joined by lawmakers from both states who he greatly admires, and respects, and supports, and he&rsquo;ll be meeting with business owners in both of these places and talking about the economy, which is, of course, of the utmost importance to him.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of Leavitt&rsquo;s deftness, Gallrein has been less obtuse, telling supporters Trump is traveling to Kentucky because the president knows he &ldquo;will fight for secure borders, American jobs, and the America First agenda in Congress.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This rally will be a huge moment for our campaign and for the people of Northern Kentucky,&rdquo; he wrote on X.<\/p>\n<p>Massie will not be in attendance, the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> confirmed.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Trump&rsquo;s persuasiveness among Republicans, he does have a mixed record with his endorsements.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Trump has his share of primary takedowns, but he&rsquo;s also been bested by officials who used their independence as an asset,&rdquo; University of Cincinnati political science professor David Niven told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;Gov. Brian Kemp in Georgia was a top Trump target, but he&rsquo;s still governor because he wasn&rsquo;t afraid to stand up for himself.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4483788\/trump-grapples-with-the-greatest-cost-of-his-war-in-iran-the-human-cost\/\"><strong>TRUMP GRAPPLES WITH THE GREATEST COST OF HIS WAR IN IRAN: THE HUMAN COST<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Although public polling regarding the Massie-Gallrein primary election is sparse, Niven argued, &ldquo;Massie is 98% MAGA compatible, but that 2% includes big, prominent things like the Epstein files and war powers.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;But fundamentally, Massie makes his own decisions rather than taking orders &mdash; and breaks with Trump in areas where Trump has followed a massively unpopular path,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;Massie will certainly lose the vote among the &lsquo;Trump is always right&rsquo; wing of the party, but most Republican voters, especially in 2026, aren&rsquo;t inclined to believe that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/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>Massie gets GOP primary edge as Trump visits district<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2652,"featured_media":2578525,"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\/2026\/03\/image-collage-pyrb5qfl5-1773182920265-e1773187245163.jpg?1773172909&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[75072,4850,3634],"class_list":["post-2578524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-iran-war","tag-massie","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-collage-pyrb5qfl5-1773182920265-e1773187245163.jpg?1773172909&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2578524","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\/2652"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2578524"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2578524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2578528,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2578524\/revisions\/2578528"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2578525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2578524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2578524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2578524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}