Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is remaining staunch in his reelection bid in the wake of Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-LA) loss on Tuesday, saying President Donald Trump is acting “desperate” in his attempt to replace him.
“You can tell that I’m ahead in the polls, and they’re desperate. That’s why they’re sending the secretary of war to my district tomorrow. That’s why the president’s losing sleep and tweeting about this. That’s why AIPAC has dumped another $3 million into my race this weekend,” Massie said on ABC’s This Week.
Massie, an eight-term incumbent who has sparred with Trump over his insistence on the full release of the Epstein files and his fiscal hawk no-vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is being challenged by Trump-endorsed Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein. The Gallrein-Massie primary is one of the closest-watched primaries of the year and has also become the most expensive race in House history, according to Politico.
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Massie has blamed billionaires and the pro-Israel lobby for the close margins in his race, saying groups such as AIPAC and people like Israeli-American businesswoman Miriam Adelson are spending “$10 million” against his campaign. Massie has been a frequent critic of U.S. aid to Israel.
“How did this race become the most expensive race in the history of Congress for a primary? It’s because three billionaires from outside of Kentucky have funneled millions of dollars in here, they’re trying to buy a seat,” Massie said on Sunday, pointing to Adelson and hedge-fund manager Paul Singer.
But Trump’s endorsement has proven it means a lot this year, particularly in the primary challenges against state senators in Indiana who voted against GOP redistricting and against Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump on impeachment charges in 2021. Trump’s backing alone could end up being the turning point in the Kentucky primary, as the president won the state with 64.5% of the vote in the 2024 presidential election.
“Tom Massie of Kentucky, the worst and most unreliable Republican Congressman in the history of our country, is an even bigger insult to our Nation than Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.
Though Massie has led by single digits in the limited polling throughout the race, Gallrein took the lead last week, according to a Quantus Insights poll. Massie has won every primary challenge since entering Congress with over 70% of the vote. The poll came as Massie denies allegations from his ex-girlfriend that he offered her thousands of dollars to drop a wrongful termination complaint against his House ally, Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN).
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But Massie called the forces against him “panicked” on Sunday. He blasted Trump for posting on Truth Social about him saying he could “sustain” Trump’s posts “without a problem,” and called the funding wars the real threat to his reelection.
“Every time he tweets about me, it’s good for some money coming in, because people don’t like that,” Massie said on Sunday.