SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (AP) — President Donald Trump has encouraged a retired Navy SEAL and unsuccessful legislative candidate to challenge Republican Rep. Thomas Massie in next year’s Kentucky primary, reaffirming his pick as “A WINNER WHO WON’T LET YOU DREAM” in his latest social media barrage against the Congressman who attacked him on high-profile issues.
Trump candidate Ed Gallrein did not campaign for the 4th District but said he would announce his plans soon and praised the president for his “great work” on securing the border and cutting taxes. Trump praised Gallrein in a post on his social media platform on Friday evening: “RUN, ED, RUN.”
Gallrein is a farmer and businessman who had a long military career and ran for a state Senate seat last year, narrowly losing by three votes in a Republican primary.
Massie, who is preparing for the toughest political fight of his career, reported his best fundraising quarter ever last week to counter a super PAC launched by Trump associates that has run ads attacking him. The maverick congressman appeared unfazed by the emergence of a potential Trump-backed rival.
“After being rejected by every elected official in the 4th District, Trump’s advisers clearly hit the panic button with their choice of failed candidate and establishment hack Ed Gallrein. Ed has been begging them to pick him for over three months now,” Massie said in a statement Friday night.
Massie has drawn Trump’s ire for opposing him on budget and foreign policy issues, but is betting that Kentuckians will embrace his independence stance despite Trump’s popularity in the Bluegrass State.
When asked Monday to head off a possible May 2026 primary with Massie and Gallrein, Republican consultant Tres Watson said: “This race is 100% about Thomas Massie versus Donald Trump. I think it will be an interesting test of Trump’s influence on the party’s base. Because Thomas Massie also appeals to an important constituency in the party’s base.”
Trump’s support was recently seen as crucial in an open congressional primary in Tennessee. Matt Van Epps, who won the crowded Republican primary, said Trump’s support “made the difference, and I’ll never forget it.” Van Epps will run in a special election in December to replace a Republican congressman who left office this summer.
Massie draws Trump’s ire
Massie’s well-documented, up-and-down relationship with Trump took another downturn this year. The libertarian-leaning congressman rejected Trump’s massive tax relief and spending cuts package, saying it would escalate the national debt and hurt the economy, while Trump called it “beautiful.” Massie also drew Trump’s ire for saying the president did not have the authority to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities without congressional approval.
And Massie was among a handful of Republicans in the House of Representatives who wanted to force the release of files related to the sex trafficking investigation into the overdue Jeffrey Epstein. Some lawmakers want the government to release secret files on Epstein, who authorities say killed himself in his New York prison cell while awaiting trial. Trump has repeatedly denied any prior knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and claimed he broke off their relationship long ago.
Massie was endorsed by Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who joined the congressman on a two-day tour of the 4th District last month. After an event, Paul told reporters that it would be “very difficult to compete against” Massie because of the enthusiastic turnout they had received.
Trump calls Massie a “lightweight”
While Trump supported his decision to oust Massie, he praised Gallrein’s military service and background as a businessman. The president said he would fight “tirelessly” on issues such as border security, crime and support for gun ownership.
“Unlike the ‘Lightweight’ Massie, a completely ineffectual loser who has failed us so badly, CAPTAIN ED GALLREIN is A WINNER WHO WILL NOT LEAVE THEM DOWN,” Trump said. “Should he decide to challenge Massie, Captain Ed Gallrein has my full approval.”
Massie’s history of defying Republican leadership
Educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massie entered Congress in 2012. He represents a conservative district that stretches across northern Kentucky and includes a mix of rural and suburban voters.
Massie’s reputation as a contrarian willing to defy Republican Party leaders goes back years. In 2020, during Trump’s first term, he tried to stall a COVID-19 relief package. At the time, Trump called him a “third-rate grandstander” who should be expelled from the Republican Party. For Massie, who was running for re-election, the defeat was a blow in the road. In 2022, Trump endorsed Massie, calling him a “conservative warrior” and a “first-rate defender of the Constitution.”
Now Massie faces the prospect of running against Trump’s vaunted political operation.
“Since he was elected, he has never faced a candidate who was both well-funded and well-qualified,” Watson said. “So this will be a unique challenge for him. However, he is a very unique member of Congress.”
In addition to Massie, several candidates have filed with the Federal Election Commission to run in Kentucky’s 4th District. The winner of the Republican nomination will be heavily favored in the November general election in a district that was last represented by a Democrat two decades ago.
