U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie's time in office is coming to an end soon after he was beaten by Trump-backed candidate Ed Gallrein in a Republican primary this spring.
After Massie's loss, he and his supporters blamed a collective "they" and billionaires for funneling millions of outside dollars into the race, the most expensive House primary in U.S. history.
“They used a lot of dirty tricks,” Massie said during his concession speech May 19. “But we did not. We didn’t bend a knee.”
Massie's political and professional future has been up in the air since then.
What will Thomas Massie do after he leaves his House seat?
He didn't file to run as an Independent for U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's seat, like some people thought he would. And despite teasing his supporters on election night, he hasn't announced plans to run for Kentucky
governor in 2027 or U.S. president in 2028.
But some die-hard Massie supporters might be planning to write in his name when they vote for a congressional representative on Nov. 3.
Here's why that won't make a difference:
Massie is ineligible to run as a write-in candidate
Massie garned about45% of the vote in May to Gallrein's 55%.
According to Kentucky's commonly-called sore loser law, "Any candidate who is defeated or disqualified in a partisan or nonpartisan primary shall be ineligible as a candidate for the same office in the regular election."
So, any votes cast for Massie via write-in would be invalid.
Who's Massie supporting?
The same night as Massie's primary loss, Libertarian candidate Jeremy Todd sprang into action.
He needed 400 valid signatures to run in the general election this fall. He gathered more than 750 in less than two weeks.
Todd, a Massie supporter, told The Enquirer he wanted to run as an alternative for those who are frustrated with Gallrein's win and big money in politics.
But Massie hasn't endorsed any candidates in the race as of Oct. 7.
Massie declined to answer when asked by The Enquirer who he's voting for this fall.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Can I write in Thomas Massie for Congress?
