Trump prevails again in primary race as candidate he backed bounced Congressman Thomas Massie

Ed Gallrein.

U.S. Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky lost a primary race to challenger Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL who was the candidate backed by President Trump after Massie became a political foil to the president during his second term. 

Gallrein ran away with the primary win Tuesday evening, clinching almost 55% of the vote to Massie's 45%, with 99% of the vote counted. Massie drew heavy criticism from Trump over the last year for opposing passage of the Big, Beautiful Bill, the president's signature piece of legislation that was passed last year, opposing the war in Iran and partnering with far-left Congressman Ro Khanna of California to force the release of the Epstein files. Dave Rubin said in a post on X that Massie having associated with Khanna and Candace Owens as well as some other leftists likely sealed his fate in Congress.

Massie's loss is the latest in a string of Republican candidates who have gone down to candidates supported by Trump and just days after a challenger unseated Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana over the weekend. Recent polling has shown Trump enjoys rock solid support from Republicans who all but want candidates for Congress who will follow Trump's lead, and not oppose him. 

As longtime polling expert Frank Luntz pointed out on X, the showdown between Massie and Gallrein was the most expensive House primary race in U.S. history, with the candidates spending more than $32 million on ads. "President Trump continues to be a kingmaker in GOP primaries," Luntz said. All told, nearly two dozen candidates backed by Trump won primary races on Tuesday.

This phenomenon was not lost on Gallrein as he praised Trump in his victory speech late Tuesday night. "I want to thank President Trump," Gallrein said, "for his support, his endorsement, and his counsel as I navigated this campaign." Watch a portion of his victory speech below.