Rep. Thomas Massie, one of President Donald Trump’s most outspoken Republican critics in Congress, was defeated Tuesday in Kentucky’s Republican primary by Trump-endorsed candidate Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL.

Gallrein will now move on to the November midterm election after securing victory in Kentucky’s Fourth Congressional District in what became the most expensive House primary race in American history.

The race had been closely watched nationwide as a major measure of Trump’s continued dominance over the Republican Party more than a decade after first entering national politics.

Throughout the campaign, Trump repeatedly urged Republican voters to back Gallrein and sharply attacked Massie, referring to him as a “major sleazebag” and “the worst Republican congressman in history”.

Massie, who had represented the district since 2012, frequently clashed with Trump in recent years. He opposed Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax-and-spending package last year, citing concerns over the growing national debt. He also voted against certain military actions backed by Trump, including operations targeting suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and the ongoing conflict involving Iran.

The Kentucky congressman additionally joined Democrats and several Republicans in pushing the Justice Department to release all files connected to Jeffrey Epstein.

Addressing supporters after conceding defeat, Massie said he remained proud of the way his campaign had been conducted.

“we’ve been honourable the whole time,” he told supporters.

“It started nine months ago, and they didn’t even have a candidate, and they decided they wanted to take me out,” he added.

On the eve of the primary, Trump intensified his attacks on Massie in a series of social media posts, labeling him “an obstructionist and a fool”.

Gallrein also received campaign support from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who traveled to Kentucky and accused Massie of engaging in “constant obstruction”.

Massie responded by arguing that Hegseth’s appearance in the district actually reflected concern within the Gallrein campaign.

“You don’t send the Secretary of War to Kentucky during a war if you think your candidate is up 10 points. That’s what you do when you realise your whole campaign is imploding,” Massie told CBS News.

Massie defended much of his voting record alongside Trump but said his disagreements came on matters of principle.

“90% of the time,” Massie said he voted with Trump, though he argued that the president and his allies “want 100% compliance”.

“It’s only the 10% of the time they’re mad about – when I won’t vote for a war, when I won’t vote for warrantless spying and when I won’t vote to bankrupt the country,” he said.

“But in those instances, I’m doing what I told the people in Kentucky I would do.”

In another major Kentucky Republican contest, Rep. Andy Barr won the GOP nomination to succeed retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is stepping down after serving more than four decades in the Senate.

Barr’s victory followed Trump’s endorsement and came after the president reportedly helped clear the field by offering an ambassadorship to Barr’s leading Republican rival.

Trump has continued to aggressively shape Republican primaries across the country through endorsements, including efforts targeting lawmakers who opposed him or supported his conviction during the 2021 impeachment proceedings.

In Texas, Trump has also backed Attorney General Ken Paxton over longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn.

“John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough,” Trump said Tuesday while explaining his endorsement of Paxton.

{Matzav.com}