Trump-Backed Ed Gallrein Defeats Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky 4th District Primary

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., lost the Republican U.S. House primary in Kentucky's 4th Congressional District to President Donald Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein, ending Massie's 14-year tenure in the seat.

The Associated Press projected Gallrein’s win as the most expensive U.S. House primary on record, with the race drawing more than $32 million in ad spending.

ABC

NBC News projected Gallrein and Melissa Claire Strange as the Republican and Democratic primary winners, with the Kentucky 4th District race called by The Associated Press.

CBS News projected that Massie conceded to Gallrein in a speech Tuesday, after Massie quipped that the primary race "went on longer than Vietnam."

Fox News reported that after Massie’s loss, former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said the future of the GOP had been "destroyed."

Trump allies celebrated Gallrein’s victory, and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung wrote on social media, likely responding to Massie’s loss: "F*** around, find out."

Asked about Massie’s defeat, Trump told reporters late Tuesday: "He was a bad guy. He deserves to lose."

Al Jazeera

In his concession speech, Massie highlighted disagreements with Trump on aid to Israel, the Iran war and the push to release files on Jeffrey Epstein, and he argued that people in Washington "tried to buy my vote" but "couldn't buy it."

Massie fired back at GOP Rep. Erin Houchin of Indiana after she posted on X about delivering the results to Trump, and Massie replied, "How do his boots taste?"

Fox News also reported that Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., declared in a post on X that "The power of Donald Trump is real."

Gallrein’s win sets up the general election in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, where CBS News said the district was the most expensive House primary in history and where pro-Israel interest groups pumped millions of dollars to unseat Massie.

The Courier-Journal said the question now turns to November’s general election, which will pit Republican former state Sen. Ralph Alvarado against Democrat Zach Dembo in Kentucky's 6th Congressional District.

In the Kentucky primary results described by NBC News, the Republican primary race was called by The Associated Press with "Latest results from 12:51 PM ET" and "Race called by The Associated Press," while the Democratic primary winner was projected as Melissa Claire Strange.

CNN framed the outcome as part of a broader pattern, saying Trump-backed challenger ousted Massie in Kentucky and noting that the payback tour followed Trump taking down five Indiana state senators and two-term Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy.

Time reported that Steve Voss, a professor of political science at the University of Kentucky, told TIME that "Massie's defeat sends the clearest message yet that the Republican Party is Donald Trump's party."