President Donald Trump strengthened his influence over the Republican Party on Tuesday after voters in northern Kentucky rejected longtime Congressman Thomas Massie and backed Trump-endorsed candidate Ed Gallrein in a heated primary contest.
Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL and farmer recruited into the race by Trump, defeated Massie in Kentucky’s fourth congressional district, ending the congressman’s seven-term run in office.
The contest was widely viewed as a major test of whether dissenting voices still had room within today’s Republican Party, particularly among conservatives who have openly disagreed with Trump.
The Kentucky primary was part of a broader election night across several states, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Alabama, Oregon, and Idaho, where voters selected party nominees ahead of the November general election.
In Georgia, Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones and businessman Rick Jackson advanced to a Republican runoff in the governor’s race, while Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — a longtime Trump critic — failed to secure the nomination. Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms won her party’s nomination outright.
In Alabama, Trump ally Tommy Tuberville won the Republican gubernatorial primary, while former Senator Doug Jones emerged as the Democratic nominee.
Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, voters selected candidates for several competitive House races expected to influence control of Congress after the November elections.
Trump also stirred tensions within the Republican Party earlier on Tuesday after endorsing Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate runoff against incumbent Senator John Cornyn.
Massie, known for his libertarian-leaning positions, frequently clashed with Trump over issues including military action against Iran, federal spending, and the release of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation files.
For months, Trump publicly attacked the congressman, calling him “a moron”, a “nut job” and a “loser”. The president also deployed top advisers Chris LaCivita and Tony Fabrizio to support a Super PAC campaign against Massie and held a rally in Kentucky where he accused the congressman of being “disloyal to the United States of America”.
Following the result, Trump told reporters, “He was a bad guy. He deserves to lose.”
Massie later confirmed he had called Gallrein to concede defeat.
“We’ve been honorable the whole time and we’re going to stay that way,” he told supporters, while also appealing for “basic decency” in politics.
During his speech, Massie referenced the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which led to the public release of millions of investigative documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“We’ve taken out two dozen CEOs, an ambassador, a prince, a prime minister, a minister of culture – and that was just six months,” Massie said before joking, “I’ve got seven months left in Congress.”
Gallrein campaigned almost entirely on loyalty to Trump and his political agenda. He accused Massie of suffering from “Trump derangement syndrome” and promised to “stand shoulder to shoulder” with the White House.
According to The Hill, the Kentucky race became the most expensive House primary contest in U.S. history, with advertising spending estimated at $25.6 million across television, radio, and digital platforms.
“It’s not just the most expensive. This thing went on longer than Vietnam,” Massie said. “Why did this race get so expensive? Because they decided to buy the seat.”
Gallrein will now head into the general election as the favourite in the deeply conservative district, which has not elected a Democrat in more than 20 years.
Elsewhere in Kentucky, Trump-backed Congressman Andy Barr secured victory in the Republican Senate primary to replace retiring former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
