President Donald Trump has vanquished his top nemesis on Capitol Hill. Seven-term Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky was handily defeated Tuesday by Trump's hand-picked challenger, Ed Gallrein, the Associated Press projected.
Gallrein, a retired Navy Seal and farmer, was chosen by the President's political operation to oust Massie after the incumbent relentlessly pushed for the release of the files surrounding the deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and bucked the President on his signature One Beautiful Bill tax legislation last summer.
The race amounted to a continuation of Trump's bitter revenge tour and underscores his unmatched power over the Republican party even as his personal popularity continues to dwindle during his second term.
On Saturday, Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump after the January 6 Capitol riot, failed to even make his state's GOP runoff.
More than $32 million flooded into the northern Kentucky race, with Trump and pro-Israel groups backing challenger Gallrein and blanketing the airwaves with attack ads against Massie, who was accustomed to cruising to re-election.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an unusual last-minute trip to the district Monday to endorse Gallrein, who largely kept his campaign away from media scrutiny.
Trump himself unleashed a torrent of attacks in the final hours ahead of the election, calling Massie 'a disloyal, ungracious, and sanctimonious FOOL,' the 'worst and most unreliable Republican Congressman in the history of our Country,' and 'a totally ineffective LOSER.'
Trump's fury extended even to Representative Lauren Boebert, a deep MAGA loyalist who dared to campaign for Massie - prompting the president to call her 'weak-minded' and float a primary challenge against her.
Massie had attempted to hold onto his seat by showcasing Gallrein's past animosity toward Trump. He presented voter registration cards he claims show Gallrein quit the GOP after Trump's initial presidential win in 2016.
'I call them voter transition cards. He transitioned out of the party and stayed out for five years,' Massie said at a GOP event back in March. A Massie TV ad also blasted Gallrein as 'woke Eddie,' who turned his back on the Trump movement.
But Massie's personal charisma and incumbency couldn't overcome the iron-fisted grip Trump holds over Republicans. He faced a torrent of explosive personal allegations just as the race closed.
Cynthia West, a former Capitol Hill staffer who claims she had a brief romantic relationship with the congressman after the death of his wife, Rhonda, in 2024, said Massie used a secret 'burner' phone he jokingly called a 'boner phone.' She also claimed he boasted about a past fling with Boebert, even describing her as the 'hottest woman in Congress.'
Neither Boebert nor Massie publicly addressed the allegation, though Boebert campaigned for Massie this past weekend ahead of his primary, as did several other Republicans, including Ohio Congressman Warren Davidson, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, and former Michigan Congressman Justin Amash.
West also accused Massie of attempting to silence her with a $5,000 hush-money offer, which Massie has denied.
The President has already claimed wins against Cassidy and a group of Indiana state senators who were ousted on May 5 after opposing his preferred plan to redraw the state's congressional districts.
Less than a week ahead of the Texas primary runoff set for next Tuesday, Trump also decided to back challenger Ken Paxton over incumbent US Senator John Cornyn, sending Republicans on Capitol Hill reeling about the implications for a competitive general election.
Massie has a long history of antagonizing Trump, going back to his first term when they clashed over Covid-19. Even when the frustrated former president denounced Massie in 2020, he never mobilized behind a primary opponent against him. In 2020, Massie skewered his primary challenger by 62 points. Then Massie went all in against Trump, endorsing Ron DeSantis' ill-fated campaign for president in 2023.
What a difference a second Trump term makes. Kentucky's Republican voters also selected Andy Barr as their nominee to replace former US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, another longtime nemesis from Kentucky, who is retiring.
