President Trump’s effort to remove Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) from Congress is coming to a head with a primary election that has become the most expensive House primary in U.S. history. The Hill reports that a total of $35 million has been spent on television, radio, and digital advertising, with outside groups and national Republicans flooding Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District with attack ads.
Axios says that the race has drawn $25.6 million in ad spending alone, breaking the previous record set in New York’s 16th Congressional District primary in 2024, when spending reached $25.4 million. When including money spent by the campaigns and political organizations combined, the total comes to roughly $35 million.
At the center of this fight is Massie, a libertarian Republican who has openly defied Trump on several issues. He voted against Trump’s tax and spending bill because it increased government spending and raised the debt ceiling, and he also refused to vote for Trump’s Iran War Powers Resolution.
Trump’s all-out push against Massie has turned one of Kentucky’s safest Republican seats into a brutal, expensive fight
Trump responded by endorsing Massie’s challenger, Ed Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL, and even traveled to Kentucky in March to urge Republican voters to remove Massie. He has called Massie a “nutjob” who “will go down as the WORST Republican Congressman.” In a speech in Kentucky, Trump said, “I just can’t stand this guy. We’ve got to get rid of this loser.”
The deep-red district has long supported Massie’s independent style, but the weight of the party establishment has made this a much closer race than expected. Many ads have turned vicious, including several AI-generated deepfakes targeting opponents.
One pro-Gallrein super PAC released an ad showing Massie holding hands with progressive Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), claiming Massie was “caught in a throuple.” Massie’s refusal to back Trump’s Iran War Powers Resolution stance has been one of the biggest attack points used against him in ads.
Despite the pressure, Massie remains confident. In an interview with The Hill, he said, “Dogs don’t bark at parked cars. I’m the only car moving. A lot of people have been intimidated into a monolithic position, and even changing their positions on foreign policy and FISA and things like that. They’re just glad somebody didn’t change his views based on the whims of this administration.”
On the money side, pro-Gallrein groups have spent over $16.4 million to unseat Massie, while Massie’s own campaign has outspent Gallrein’s, $5.8 million to $2.6 million. Still, Massie has faced criticism over his voting record on issues like Israel. Much like how world leaders use power moves against Trump, Massie has also found ways to push back against the president on his own terms.
Kentucky-based GOP strategist TJ Litafik summed up the stakes simply: “It’s a test of Trump’s strength and who turns out. It’s a very epic battle in the Republican Party.” If Massie loses, it will signal that Trump’s grip on the party is tightening. If Massie holds on, it will show that even in a deep-red district, an independent-minded incumbent can survive the full force of the Republican establishment.
Published: May 17, 2026 06:30 am