The Republican primary between Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein has set a record for the most spent on a House primary race since tracking began.
Nearly $33 million has been spent on advertising and media in the Kentucky contest after Trump targeted Massie for breaking with him over the Epstein files. The race has also become a showcase for increasingly aggressive AI-generated campaign ads.
One anti-Massie ad uses artificial intelligence to depict the congressman dining and holding hands with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), accusing him of “cheating on America” with “the Squad,” a reference to the progressive Democratic lawmakers.
At the same time, a pro-Massie group released an AI-generated ad labeling Gallrein “Woke Eddie” and portraying the retired Navy SEAL abandoning President Donald Trump on a battlefield.
Massie has said pro-Israel AIPAC has been spending big on his race. AIPAC spent $3 million on ads last weekend, according to Massie. In total, AIPAC’s election branch has spent $4.1 million on the primary, according to FEC data reviewed by Reuters, and is one of multiple pro-Israel PACs funding Massie’s opponent.
The race, set to be decided Tuesday night, is shaping up as another test of Trump’s grip on the Republican Party during the 2026 midterm election cycle. The president has increasingly targeted GOP lawmakers he believes have defied him, backing challengers against Republicans who have broken with him on major votes or policy disputes.
That effort has extended beyond Congress. In Indiana, Trump-backed candidates recently unseated nearly every incumbent Republican state senator targeted in a revenge-driven campaign aimed at lawmakers who voted against a Trump-backed redistricting effort.
That dynamic was also on display in Louisiana, where Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) was defeated over the weekend. Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump during his impeachment trial following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, had also split with the president on several health policy issues and administration nominations.
AN UNBURDENED BILL CASSIDY DOESN’T REGRET TRUMP IMPEACHMENT VOTE AFTER PRIMARY LOSS
Cassidy’s challengers, Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming, will now advance to a runoff to determine who will appear on the November general election ballot. Cassidy spent roughly $5.1 million on advertising during the race. He garnered less than 25% of the vote.
Meanwhile, a political action committee aligned with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement spent nearly $117,000 backing Letlow in the final week before the election.
In Texas, another high-profile Republican battle is unfolding as two major candidates compete for Trump’s endorsement in the Senate runoff race. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) has emerged as one of the top Senate spenders nationwide, according to Federal Election Commission data. The race has already become the most expensive Senate primary contest to date.
So far, Cornyn has spent more than $10 million on the race, while his Republican opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, has spent more than $5 million, ranking close behind the top 25 Republican spenders nationwide.
TRUMP SAYS HE’LL MAKE AN ENDORSEMENT IN TEXAS SENATE PRIMARY RUNOFF TUESDAY
Trump said Tuesday that he planned to announce his endorsement in the Texas Senate runoff later in the day.
“Actually, I’m going to be making an endorsement today in Texas,” Trump said. “I’m going to be putting out an endorsement in a little while in Texas, the great state — you know, I won Texas all six times, meaning primaries and the race, and I got the highest vote in the history of Texas — and I love Texas, but I’m going to be making an endorsement at about 12:30, 1 today for the big race, the Senate race in Texas, and I hope you find it good.”