Rep. Thomas Massie lost his reelection bid in the Republican primary for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, The Associated Press projected — another showing of President Donald Trump’s ability to clear his detractors from Congress.
Massie’s opponent, the former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, led by nine points with 74 percent of the vote in. He will face Democrat Melissa Claire Strange in November.
Massie has been a thorn in President Donald Trump’s side throughout this cycle. Trump handpicked Gallrein last year to run in what became the most expensive House primary of all time. Massie, whom the president has previously called to be kicked out of the Republican Party, led a bipartisan charge to release the Epstein files and opposed the war with Iran.
While Trump has successfully endorsed alternate candidates running against Republican incumbents multiple times this cycle, including in Louisiana and Indiana, Massie’s loss is one of the strongest indicators of the president’s influence so far.
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“We’re in a fight against the worst congressman in the history of our country. His name is Thomas Massie,” Trump said in a video posted Monday on Truth Social. “I hope you’re going to put him out of business tomorrow.”
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