BREAKING: Thomas Massie Loses Primary in Big Win for Trump and AIPAC
Tuesday's race in Kentucky was the most expensive primary ever, after pro-Israel donors poured in millions to unseat the right-wing Trump critic.
Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie lost his bid for re-election on Tuesday, falling to a Trump-backed challenger after pro-Israel donors poured millions into the race to depose the seven-term MAGA defector, making it the most expensive House primary on record.
When the race was called, Massie’s opponent, Ed Gallrein, had 54.4% of the vote in Kentucky’s deep-red fourth district. Gallrein ran on Trump’s endorsement and not much else. His victory is a sign of the president’s continuing grip on the Republican base.
Trump’s fight to unseat Massie started last year, after the Kentucky congressman lambasted the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill and the June 2025 attack on Iran.
The intra-party war escalated dramatically after Massie broke party lines to co-sponsor the Epstein Files Transparency Act with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, in what was both a rare show of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill and a humiliating defeat for Trump. Massie has also opposed the Iran war and unconditional support for Israel.
While the Kentucky congressman has fought the president on some big-ticket items, becoming perhaps Trump’s strongest GOP adversary in Congress, he remains a hard-right Republican who largely aligns with the MAGA base. Massie opposes abortion rights, gun control, and birthright citizenship for children of undocumented migrants.
The hotly contested primary also marks a victory for AIPAC amid questions over the pro-Israel lobby’s influence in US politics.
AIPAC’s super PAC, which called Massie the “most anti-Israel Republican in the House,” poured more than $4 million into the race to defeat him, according to campaign finance records. A new anti-Massie super PAC, created by Trump and heavily funded by pro-Israel billionaires, spent another $5.6 million.
All in all, the challenge to Massie is the most expensive House primary on record, according to AdImpact, which tracked $32.6 million in ad spending.
On Tuesday, the president and AIPAC won.
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