{"id":2604759,"date":"2026-05-19T21:55:57","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T01:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-backed-ed-gallrein-defeats-thomas-massie-in-kentucky\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T21:57:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T01:57:07","slug":"trump-backed-ed-gallrein-defeats-thomas-massie-in-kentucky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-backed-ed-gallrein-defeats-thomas-massie-in-kentucky\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump-backed Ed Gallrein defeats Thomas Massie in Kentucky"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/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%2Ftrump-backed-ed-gallrein-defeats-thomas-massie-in-kentucky%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=2604759&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>Ed Gallrein defeated Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky\u2019s 4th Congressional District Republican primary, a win seen as a major step in President Donald Trump\u2019s efforts to push out GOP dissenters. Gallrein led with 54.4% to Massie\u2019s 45.6% as the Associated Press called the race with 74% of votes counted.<\/p>\n<p>The contest became the most expensive House primary in history, with over $32 million spent. Trump-aligned groups and pro-Israel organizations provided significant outside funding to unseat Massie, whose 14-year House career now appears to be ending. Massie attributed the cost to outside forces trying to purchase his vote, while Gallrein credited Trump\u2019s support and said his focus will be advancing the president\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n<p>The article also places the result within a broader pattern of Trump-backed revenge wins following GOP figures who broke with him, noting that Massie-once a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/famed-satirist-p-j-orourke-dead-at-74\/\" title=\"Famed Satirist P.J. O\u2019Rourke Dead At 74\">libertarian-leaning conservative<\/a> known for resisting party leadership-had drawn heavy targeting. After his concession, Massie faced chants from the crowd about 2028, with some urging him to run again; he responded about discussing it later.  <\/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<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>Ed Gallrein defeated 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) for the Republican nomination for Kentucky\u2019s 4th Congressional District on Tuesday, delivering President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a> one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tim-scott-education-the-great-equalizer-in-our-country\/\" title=\"Tim Scott: Education &#039;the Great Equalizer in Our Country&#039;\">biggest victories<\/a> yet in his campaign to purge dissenters from the GOP.<\/p>\n<p>The loss likely ends Massie\u2019s 14-year career in the House and closes out the most expensive House primary in history, with more than $32 million spent overall. Trump-aligned groups poured more than $7 million into the race, while pro-Israel organizations spent another $9 million to unseat Massie.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would have come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent and concede, and it took a while to find Ed Gallrein in Tel Aviv,\u201d Massie said during his concession speech Tuesday night, referring to the pro-Israel PAC spending. <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4573482\/pennsylvania-10th-district-democratic-primary-results\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Stelson-Perry rematch set in Pennsylvania\u2019s 10th District<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4573438\/pennsylvania-8th-district-results-rob-bresnahan-paige-cognetti\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti to face Rep. Rob Bresnahan in Pennsylvania\u2019s 8th District general election<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4575268\/kentucky-4th-congressional-district-primary-thomas-massie-ed-gallrein\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump-backed Ed Gallrein defeats Thomas Massie in Kentucky<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>With 74% of votes counted, Gallrein was leading with 54.4% of the vote, compared to Massie\u2019s 45.6%, when the Associated Press called the race at 7:54 p.m. Tuesday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>A former Navy SEAL, Gallrein\u2019s family runs a destination farm in the western portion of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fake-kamala-got-loomered-laura-loomer-catches-kamala-harris-body-double-at-palm-beach-polling-place-video-photos\/\" title=\"FAKE KAMALA GOT LOOMERED! --Laura Loomer Catches Kamala Harris BODY DOUBLE at Palm Beach Polling Place! (VIDEO -PHOTOS)\">district<\/a>. He was recruited by Trump allies solely to defeat Massie.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s been a terrible congressman from day one,\u201d Trump said of Massie at the White House on Tuesday. \u201cDealing with him is just horrible. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s a Republican. I think he\u2019s actually a Democrat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe votes against us all the time,\u201d Trump added. <\/p>\n<p>In his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wonderful-visual-emblem-glass-monument-to-kamala-harris-erected-in-front-of-lincoln-memorial\/\" title=\"\u2018Wonderful Visual Emblem\u2019: Glass Monument To Kamala Harris Erected In Front Of Lincoln Memorial\">victory speech<\/a>, Gallrein thanked Trump for his support and counsel throughout the campaign. Gallrein called the race a \u201cjourney\u201d and said he was thankful for Trump\u2019s \u201ccourageous leadership of our nation at this critical time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow my focus is on advancing the president\u2019s and the party\u2019s agenda to put America first and Kentucky always,\u201d Gallrein said during his remarks.<\/p>\n<p>Since returning to the White House, Trump has aggressively wielded his political influence against Republicans willing to break with him, and Massie became perhaps the ultimate target.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor 14 years, those SOBs in Washington tried to buy my vote; they couldn\u2019t buy it,\u201d Massie said of outside spending in the race. \u201cWhy did the race get so expensive? Because they decided to buy the seat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Trump had already racked up a string of revenge-tour victories in recent months. On Saturday, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) lost his shot at reelection after being targeted for voting to impeach Trump five years ago for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Similarly, last month, several Indiana state senators lost GOP primaries to Trump-backed challengers after refusing the president\u2019s push for mid-decade redistricting.<\/p>\n<p>But those did not draw the attention or money that Massie\u2019s did. <\/p>\n<p>First elected in 2012, Massie built a national profile as a libertarian-minded conservative willing to buck both parties and frequently frustrate Republican leadership. Massie voted against Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-medicaid-reform-could-pay-for-trumps-one-big-beautiful-bill-reverse-bidenflation-and-make-america-great-again\/\" title=\"How Medicaid reform could pay for Trump\u2019s \u2018one big, beautiful bill,\u2019 reverse Bidenflation, and \u2018Make America Great Again\u2019\">signature tax cut law<\/a> last year, teamed up with Democrats to release the Epstein files, and has opposed the president\u2019s actions against Iran. <\/p>\n<p>Massie openly acknowledged the uniqueness of his political brand even as he fought for survival.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf anybody could run as an independent and win, it would be me,\u201d Massie told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> earlier this year. \u201cBut I still don\u2019t think that\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4572917\/stick-their-necks-out-massie-allies-risk-wrath-campaign\/\">\u2018STICKING OUT THEIR NECK\u2019: MASSIE\u2019S ALLIES RISK TRUMP\u2019S WRATH BY CAMPAIGNING FOR HIM<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Towards the end of Massie\u2019s concession speech, the crowd erupted into \u201c28! 28!\u201d chants, referring to 2028, when the next congressional and presidential contests will be held. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happens in 2028?\u201d Massie asked the crowd. \u201cOh, you want me to run for Congress again?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The crowd then erupted into a second round of chants, urging Massie to run for president in the 2028 race. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou made a compelling argument; you spoke your peace,\u201d Massie said. \u201cWe\u2019ll talk about it later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Hailey Bullis contributed to this report. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ed Gallrein beat Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky\u2019s 4th GOP primary, ending Massie\u2019s 14-year House career<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3691,"featured_media":2604760,"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\/05\/image-collage-05x748mwo-1779221518762-e1779221635393.jpg?1779207224&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[65612,12830,33196,5507,35343],"class_list":["post-2604759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-ed-gallrein","tag-kentucky","tag-thomas-massie","tag-trump-backed","tag-u-s-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-collage-05x748mwo-1779221518762-e1779221635393.jpg?1779207224&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604759","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\/3691"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2604759"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2604763,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604759\/revisions\/2604763"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2604760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2604759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2604759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2604759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}