US Rep. Thomas Massie's GOP primary in Kentucky is the latest test of
Trump's power over the party
[May 19, 2026]
By JESSE BEDAYN and DYLAN LOVAN
CRESTWOOD, Ky. (AP) — Republican voters in northern Kentucky will choose
between U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie and challenger Ed Gallrein in Tuesday's
House primary, another test of President Donald Trump's power over his
party after he handpicked Gallrein to take on the incumbent.
The primary race turned white hot in the final stretch. Massie brought
in a phalanx of other Republicans, including Rep. Lauren Boebert, in an
attempt to show voters that they could support both him and Trump. Trump
ratcheted up his social media attacks on Massie, calling him “an
obstructionist and a fool,” and Gallrein shared a stage with Defense
Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday.
Trump has tightened his grip on the Republican Party in his second term,
successfully purging those who deviate from his agenda, but Massie is
one of the last and most outspoken holdouts. A Massie defeat on Tuesday
would serve as one of the most powerful demonstrations yet of Trump’s
influence over Republican voters.
The matchup between the congressman, who has been in office since 2012,
and a first time candidate running on his loyalty to Trump has become
the most expensive U.S. House primary in history.
Massie challenged the president last year to release the Jeffrey Epstein
files, which became a political drag for the White House. He has also
criticized the war in Iran and refused to vote for Trump's signature tax
legislation over concerns that it would increase the national debt.
Trump visited Kentucky to boost Gallrein in March. The president has had
a string of success defeating dissenters in his party, pushing to oust
Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana and several Indiana state senators who
defied him on redistricting.
The winner of Tuesday's primary is expected to take the general election
in the deeply red 4th Congressional District, which stretches along the
state's northernmost border.
Republicans statewide will also choose their nominee to replace Mitch
McConnell, the longtime U.S. Senate leader, in a contest that represents
a generational changing of the guard for the party. Rep. Andy Barr,
endorsed by Trump, faces Daniel Cameron, a former state attorney
general.
Can Republican voters support both Trump and Massie?
Massie's challenge is to win over voters who generally think favorably
of Trump, the same man telling them to vote for Gallrein. It's not the
first Republican primary Trump has tried to sway, but Massie's overt
rebelliousness has been a particular challenge to the president.
Gallrein, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL, embraced the role Trump gave him,
focusing his pitch to voters on his personal history and unwavering
loyalty to the president. Massie, he argued, betrayed Trump and the
party.
Hegseth made a visit to the district Monday to boost Gallrein and
lambast Massie, a break from tradition that came while the nation is at
war. Hegseth said he was speaking “as a private citizen.”
Some voters were already fed up with Massie bucking the party.
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Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY, speaks to reporters after a Kentucky
Educational Television (KET) debate, Monday, May 4, 2026, in
Lexington, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
George Scherzer, who lives in the small town of Crestwood, Kentucky,
supported Massie in past elections but didn’t like the congressman’s
lack of support on some of the president’s agenda, including last
year’s tax and spending bill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill.
“Some of his votes just did not make sense to me,” he said.
Massie has argued that voters do not have to choose between Trump
and him, noting that he voted with his party the vast majority of
the time. As for the remainder, he said those were on proposals that
violated his America First principles such as adding to the national
debt and getting into military entanglements, such as the war with
Iran.
Massie has voted against U.S. aid to Israel and has faced
accusations of antisemitism. He has denied the charges, arguing he's
generally against all foreign aid. But the race has drawn in
millions of dollars against him from pro-Israel interest groups,
including from the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund.
That's become a stump topic for Massie, who says the attempt to oust
him is to send a warning to other lawmakers who oppose the president
or aid to Israel.
In a pitch to Kentucky Republicans, Boebert posted photos both of
her with Massie and with Trump on X, and wrote, “I support both of
these men.” Replying to Boebert's message on X, Massie said, “she
likes both Trump and me! Yes it’s possible!!”
Trump lashed out at Boebert on Truth Social, asking for a Republican
to challenge her even though the filing deadline in her home state
of Colorado has already passed. “Anybody that dumb deserves a good
Primary fight!” he wrote.
McConnell goes largely unmentioned in primary for his seat
Barr and Cameron have tiptoed around their relationship with
McConnell, who they previously worked under.
McConnell criticized Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S.
Capitol and more recently voted against some of his Cabinet picks.
He is stepping down after he becoming the longest serving Senate
leader in American history, coinciding with a transformation of the
party under Trump.
Many Republicans, while admiring McConnell's achievements, see him
as out of step with the Make America Great Again and America First
movements spawned by Trump. Both Barr and Cameron have taken note,
and while ingratiating themselves to the president have put some
distance between themselves and McConnell.
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