{"id":2604851,"date":"2026-05-20T06:52:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T10:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-thomas-massie-lost\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T06:53:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T10:53:35","slug":"why-thomas-massie-lost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-thomas-massie-lost\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Thomas Massie Lost"},"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\">8<\/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%2Fwhy-thomas-massie-lost%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=2604851&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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/philosophy-professor-resigns-social-justice-factory-university-due-to-retaliation\/\" title=\"Philosophy Professor Resigns \u201cSocial Justice Factory\u201d University due to \u201cRetaliation\u201d\">article asks<\/a> why Rep.Thomas Massie lost last night, arguing it wasn\u2019t simply the result of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-rubio-external-forces-seek-to-damage-us-colombia-relationship\/\" title=\"Sen Rubio: &#039;External Forces&#039; Seek to Damage US...Colombia Relationship\">external forces<\/a> like Donald Trump. It claims Massie\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >public image shifted dramatically<\/a>: from principled libertarian during COVID, to aligning with GOP leadership under Kevin McCarthy, and then-by 2025-portraying himself as intensely focused on Trump and related issues, including Epstein, despite little prior attention to those topics.<\/p>\n<p>The piece says the decisive factor was Massie voting against a major proposed bill in 2025 (\u201cthe One Big Stunning Bill\u201d) because, in his view, it did too much to secure the border.It notes that Massie previously faced and beat Trump in 2020, suggesting the defeat cannot be explained away as Trump\u2019s doing alone.<\/p>\n<p>the author contends that Massie changed in a way voters noticed-seeming more driven by attention and political grandstanding than by the needs of Kentucky-possibly due to personal or career influences such as the death of his spouse, the aftermath of the McCarthy era, or a desire for media notoriety.  <\/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<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZSwiKfpzN7U\">WCPO 9\/YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/20\/why-thomas-massie-lost\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Why Thomas Massie Lost&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/20\/why-thomas-massie-lost\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Why Thomas Massie Lost&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/20\/why-thomas-massie-lost\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/20\/why-thomas-massie-lost\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Why Thomas Massie Lost&#038;body=Massie\u2019s voters didn\u2019t really change all that much, but he did, and they noticed.%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/20\/why-thomas-massie-lost\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Why did Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., lose last night? <\/p>\n<p>Massie went from principled libertarian during Covid, to GOP leadership lapdog under Kevin McCarthy, to anti-Trump Epstein obsessive in 2025 after tweeting about that issue a whopping three times in the decade prior. The nail in the coffin for him was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wlwt.com\/article\/massie-one-of-2-republican-votes-against-big-beautiful-bill\/65300423\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">voting against<\/a> the One Big Beautiful Bill in 2025 because, according to Massie, it did too much to secure the border. <\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1288512979\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Trump mercilessly trashed Massie in 2020 \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2020\/03\/27\/trump-gop-thomas-massie-forcing-stimulus-vote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">calling<\/a> him a \u201cdisaster\u201d for America and Kentucky and saying he should be thrown out of the GOP entirely \u2014 but Massie easily swatted that away and <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Kentucky%27s_4th_Congressional_District_election,_2020\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">won<\/a> 81-19, so you can\u2019t say he only lost because of Trump. He went toe-to-toe with Trump on Covid in 2020 and won overwhelmingly. <\/p>\n<p>Massie lost because he went from being perceived as a quirky but lovable nerd who seemed to genuinely believe everything he said, to looking like a clout-chasing influencer who cared more about getting TV time with Democrats on an issue he clearly never cared about until five minutes ago than he did about representing his voters. <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll never know what caused the apparent personality change \u2014 maybe it was the death of his wife, maybe it was the McCarthy race followed by McCarthy\u2019s ouster, or maybe it was a desire for notoriety or media acclaim and a lucrative podcasting career outside of Congress \u2014 but the drastic change was undeniable, as was the seeming lack of interest in much of anything happening in Kentucky. <\/p>\n<p>Blame Trump, blame Israel, blame Epstein, blame the tragic death of a spouse, I don\u2019t care. But you cannot just wave away 2020 Massie going face-to-face with the Trump machine and winning in a rout only to get smoked six years later. <\/p>\n<p>Massie\u2019s voters didn\u2019t really change all that much, but he did, and they noticed.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"28q5OWQAEDl7yZPdKGVnv6uMeSiU4CbRkrhFz\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Why did Massie lose tonight?<\/p>\n<p>Massie went from principled libertarian during COVID, to GOP leadership lapdog under McCarthy, to anti-Trump Epstein obsessive in 2025 after tweeting about that issue a whopping three (3) times in the decade prior. The nail in the coffin for him was\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Sean Davis (@seanmdav) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/seanmdav\/status\/2056901201879322812?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 20, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Sean Davis is CEO and co-founder of The Federalist. He previously worked as an economic policy adviser to Gov. Rick Perry, as CFO of Daily Caller, and as chief investigator for Sen. Tom Coburn. He was named by The Hill as one of the top congressional staffers under the age of 35 for his role in spearheading the enactment of the law that created USASpending.gov. Sean received a BBA in finance from Texas Tech University and an MBA in finance and entrepreneurial management from the Wharton School. He can be reached via e-mail at <a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/mailto:sean@thefederalist.com\">sean@thefederalist.com<\/a>.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Sean Davis<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/seanmdav\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@seanmdav<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/seandavis\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/covid\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">COVID<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/epstein\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Epstein<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/federal-spending\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">federal spending<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/gop-primaries\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">GOP primaries<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/grandstanding\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">grandstanding<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/israel\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Israel<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/kentucky\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Kentucky<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/one-big-beautiful-bill\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">One Big Beautiful Bill<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/thomas-massie\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Thomas Massie<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why did Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) lose last night? Massie shifted from libertarian to GOP lapdog to anti-Trump Epstein obsessive-his biggest break came when he voted against the \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill\u201d over border concerns<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":730,"featured_media":2604852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Thomas-Massie.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[3728,5894,33196],"class_list":["post-2604851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-election","tag-politics","tag-thomas-massie"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Thomas-Massie.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604851","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\/730"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2604851"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2604855,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604851\/revisions\/2604855"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2604852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2604851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2604851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2604851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}