The Boone County Republican Party has voted 50-28 to uphold a rule requiring neutrality in contested primaries. The move has gone viral on social media as Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie is facing a contested primary election on May 19th.
President Donald Trump is backing former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein in the
Republican primary in Kentucky’s 4th District — a revenge mission after Massie pushed to release the Jeffrey Epstein files and opposed the president on other key votes.
“Massie is a complete and total disaster as a congressman and, frankly, as a human being,” Trump said last month at an event in the district where Gallrein joined him onstage.
In areas like Grant County, where the president won with more than 80% of the vote in the 2024 election, Massie hopes to make Trump less of an afterthought as he battles for his political survival.
His longtime supporters must have faith in this endeavor. Massie, who was first elected in 2012, was able to present his case for why he still deserves it at last week’s GOP dinner, where guests gathered inside a special events barn and chose from a buffet of beef and potatoes, green beans, and salad.
“I read the bills. I try to make the decision based on what is best. I try to do the things that I campaigned on,” Massie told them. “And sometimes it means voting no.”
Massie then took a swipe at Gallrein, who had been invited and expected to speak at the dinner but canceled at the last minute. A spokesperson said he had two funerals to attend.
“The problem with Washington, D.C., is that you got people that stand at podiums like this and make you all kinds of promises, and then they go up there and go along to get along, and they forget about all the promises,” Massie said. “I’m running against a guy whose main thing is he will promise you he will go along to get along. I don’t think we need a rubber stamp.”
In response to questions for this article, Gallrein spokesperson Alexandra Wilkes issued a statement that read: “Captain Gallrein is honored that President Trump has been so supportive of his campaign to defeat every liberal’s favorite Republican, Thomas Massie.”
Massie is well-known for his libertarian and fiscally conservative views, which include
opposition to wars of choice like the one Trump has entered in Iran and worries about the federal deficit.
Massie stated in an interview following the dinner that he has seen many voters who value their congressman as a “fighter” but still support the president.
“There’s a portion of the electorate who doesn’t believe that Congress should be independent,” Massie told NBC News. “They believe that, when the Republicans control the White House and the Congress, that Congress should just do whatever the president wants. But that’s not how our government’s set up.”
Independent and public polling of the primary has been scarce, but Massie said the surveys he has seen show him leading.
“It’s an interesting quandary, because the district has very much been pro-Trump,” said Shauna Reilly, a political science professor at Northern Kentucky University. “But they also have re-elected Massie numerous times, and so he seems to be well-liked in the district, and I suspect that he will probably be successful in this.”
“Massie is his own dude,” Reilly added, “and he’s running his own campaign, and I think like or lump it, that’s sort of how he’s going to approach this.”
According to AdImpact, an ad tracking company, more than $12.4 million has been spent on advertisements in the race through Monday, with $6.8 million coming from Gallrein or outside spending groups that are running commercials to support him or criticize Massie.
While the Trump-affiliated group MAGA KY has concentrated on immigration and border security provisions in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which Massie voted against, the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory PAC attacked Massie for opposing the Iran war.
