Massie has been at odds with Trump for many months now.
Incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky has lost his primary against primary challenger Ed Gallrein. President Donald Trump endorsed Gallrein ahead of the election and has been looking to have Massie out of his congressional seat.
The race was called by Decision Desk a bit before 7:45 pm Eastern Time on Tuesday with just under half the votes counted.
Hours before polls closed, Trump took to Truth Social to slam Massie and boost Gallrein.
“Can you imagine ‘Congressman’ Thomas Massie putting out a many years ago Endorsement of him, by me, when he knows that he wasn’t endorsed, but that I proudly endorsed Ed Gallrein? The reason is that Massie has turned out to be the Worst Congressman in the Republican Party. This shows what a totally dishonest and desperate guy Massie is, and I hope the Voters aren’t fooled by his deception!”
Massie has been at odds with Trump for many months now, with the president often slamming the congressman over his voting record. The primary in Kentucky came on the heels of other elections which tested how much of a grip the president has on the Republican primary.
In Indiana, several Republican candidates lost their seats in the state legislature after they bucked the president on the issue of redistricting congressional boundaries in the state. Candidates backed by Turning Point Action as well as the president were able to beat those incumbent state lawmakers in primaries.
In another win for Trump, incumbent Senator Bill Cassidy in Louisiana lost his primary and it will now go to a runoff election between Rep. Julia Letlow as well as Louisiana John Fleming. Cassidy has the lowest percentage of votes. Cassidy had voted to convict Trump in his 2021 impeachment over January 6 and voted with the Democrats along with several other GOP senators at the time.
After Massie lost the race, Trump posted a photo of himself with Gallrein, touting the win.
NBC News’ Steve Kornacki detailed the race as it went down, showing that Gallrein was outperforming in the race against Massie in nearly all the districts in the election.
According to the New York Times, nearly $33 million were spent on political ads in the state between Massie as well as Gallrein, one of the most expensive House races in years. Massie has been an outspoken critic of Trump when it comes to relations with Israel as well as the conflict with Iran.
Massie, who was first elected to the House in 2012, has been an ever-present thorn in Trump’s political agenda and has voted against major legislation backed by the president such as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” He also worked with Democrat congressman Ro Khanna in effort to slam the president over the release of the Epstein files.
Gallrein, a former Navy Seal, kept a lower profile during the campaign than Massie and allowed his endorsement from Trump to work for him. Massie claimed last month that the outcome of his primary will determine if other Republicans will counter Trump in upcoming months.