GOODBYE: Thomas Massie Ousted in KY Primary

It’s over.

Rep. Thomas Massie has been ousted by Ed Gallrein.

Results are coming in slow in #KY04 but it seems like Massie’s toast.
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) May 19, 2026

Thomas Massie appears on track to lose the early vote, potentially by 10 points or more. The race is not over, but he will likely need a strong Election Day performance to win re-election.
— VoteHub (@VoteHub) May 19, 2026

It’s remarkable, considering Massie was once seen as one of the most insulated from MAGA wrath. As the saying goes, all politics is local. However, the Kentucky Republican became a major annoyance, with his stances on border security, the big beautiful bill, and numerous other issues; he was gradually tearing himself apart.

And now, the joyous day of reckoning has arrived. Massie is gone, and the early voting numbers made that clear. The Election Day vote also did not look good for Massie. And now, it's official (via NBC News):

🚨 Trump-endorsed Ed Gallrein continues to hit the margins he needs to defeat Thomas Massie — NBC pic.twitter.com/yNm4b5Y9Ra
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 19, 2026

🚨 NOW — KORNACKI: "That's a BIG chunk of the vote in Boone and Kenton County, those are NOT the numbers Massie wants to see!"

"Spencer County, demographically would be more pro-Trump, is delivering for Gallrein."

"Rurals are delivering for Gallrein, and he's getting numbers he… pic.twitter.com/BArlBcad7u
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 19, 2026

🚨 NOW: Thomas Massie narrowly trails Ed Gallrein with 12% of the vote reporting by 5 points

Massie appears to be performing better in election day voting compared to early voting, but a lot of vote remains. Massie's only blow-out so far is his come county pic.twitter.com/yAXCDnK1Jd
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 19, 2026

Former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein has won the Republican primary in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District over Rep. Thomas Massie, NBC News projects, notching another win for President Donald Trump in his push to eliminate political rivals and roadblocks within his own party.
Gallrein beat Massie in the most explosive fight of Trump’s political pressure campaign that wended its way from Indiana and Louisiana to the Bluegrass State this month, all featuring primary challengers endorsed by the president. Gallrein was aided by an extraordinary advertising blitz fueled largely by pro-Trump and pro-Israel groups.
[…]
Known as an anti-war libertarian and deficit hawk, Massie drew ire from Trump and his allies for opposing the war in Iran, as well as the president’s “big beautiful bill” spending package. Massie, along with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., also was one of the chief proponents of making public the Justice Department’s files related to investigations of late sex offender — and one-time Trump friend — Jeffrey Epstein.
Massie’s prospects of outmaneuvering Trump became even more tenuous over the final days of the race.

President Trump remains a force to be reckoned with when you go to war with him. Massie is the latest among numerous Republicans updating their resumes because they couldn’t get with the program. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who voted to impeach the president, faced the same fate over the weekend. Before that, it was a group of anti-redistricting Republicans in the Indiana Senate. Now, Massie joins the trophy wall.

7 Republican senators who voted to convict Trump

🔴 Burr - Gone
🔴 Romney - Gone
🔴 Sasse - Gone
🔴 Toomey - Gone
🔴 Cassidy - Almost gone
🔴 Collins - Survived
🔴 Murkowski - Survived
— Political Polls (@PpollingNumbers) May 17, 2026

IT'S OV-AH! Ed Gallrein has defeated Rep. Thomas Massie in KY 4. Massie has cut Gallrein's lead in Campbell down to 2%, but Gallrein still leads districtwide by 10% and leads in Boone by 10% with 88% of that county's vote in. The rural left will pad Gallrein's margin.
— Henry Olsen (@henryolsenEPPC) May 19, 2026

The avowed and principled libertarian has PBS playing at his election night event. https://t.co/IsjrXApxha
— L A R R Y (@LarryOConnor) May 19, 2026

Reupping. https://t.co/Ixa6MAdqrA
— James Blair (@JamesBlairUSA) May 19, 2026

In hindsight, when you go here unprompted, maybe that was a sign that he knew he was cooked:

Notice how Massie just brings up Israel and Jews unprompted, out of the blue. The question wasn't even about Jews.

Disgusting! pic.twitter.com/GbcYtyvSju
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) May 19, 2026

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