SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (AP) — President Donald Trump has encouraged a retired Navy SEAL and unsuccessful legislative candidate to challenge Republican Rep. Thomas Massie in next year's Kentucky primary, building up his choice as “A WINNER WHO WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN" in his latest social media barrage against the congressman, who has crossed him on high-profile issues.
Trump's choice, Ed Gallrein, has not entered the 4th District campaign but said he would
reveal his plans soon while praising the president for “an amazing job” on securing the border and lowering taxes. Trump touted Gallrein in a Friday evening post on his social media platform: “RUN, ED, RUN.”
Gallrein is a farmer and businessman who had a long military career and last year ran for a state Senate seat, narrowly losing in a three-way Republican primary.
Massie, bracing for the toughest political fight of his career, last week reported his best-ever fundraising quarter to try to counter a super PAC launched by Trump aides that has run ads attacking him. The maverick congressman sounded unfazed by the emergence of a would-be rival backed by Trump.
“After having been rejected by every elected official in the 4th District, Trump’s consultants clearly pushed the panic button with their choice of failed candidate and establishment hack Ed Gallrein. Ed’s been begging them to pick him for over three months now,” Massie said in a statement Friday night.
Massie has drawn Trump’s wrath for opposing him on budget and foreign policy issues but is betting that Kentuckians will embrace his independent streak despite Trump’s popularity in the Bluegrass State.
Asked Monday to handicap a potential May 2026 primary involving Massie and Gallrein, Republican consultant Tres Watson said: “This race is 100% about Thomas Massie vs. Donald Trump. I think it will be an interesting test of Trump’s influence on the base of the party. Because Thomas Massie also appeals to an important constituency in the base of the party.”
Trump’s endorsement was seen as decisive in a recent open congressional primary in Tennessee. Matt Van Epps, who won the crowded Republican primary, said Trump's endorsement “made the difference, and I will never forget it.” Van Epps will compete in December in a special election to replace a GOP congressman who left office this summer.
Massie’s well-documented, up-and-down relationship with Trump took another plunge this year. The libertarian-leaning congressman opposed Trump's massive tax breaks and spending cuts package, saying it will grow the national debt and hurt the economy, while Trump calls it “beautiful.” Massie also drew Trump’s ire for saying the president lacked authority to attack Iran’s nuclear sites without congressional approval.
And Massie has been among a handful of House Republicans looking to force the public release of case files on the sex trafficking probe into the late Jeffrey Epstein. The Republican president’s supporters want the government to release secret files about Epstein, who authorities say killed himself in his New York jail cell while awaiting trial. Trump has repeatedly denied prior knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and claimed he cut off their relationship long ago.
Massie has been endorsed by Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who joined the congressman on a two-day swing through the 4th District last month. After one event, Paul told reporters that based on the enthusiastic turnout they received, “it will be very hard to run against” Massie.
While promoting his choice to unseat Massie, Trump touted Gallrein's military service and background as a businessman. The president said he will “fight tirelessly” on such issues as border security, crime and support for gun ownership rights.
“Unlike ‘lightweight’ Massie, a totally ineffective LOSER who has failed us so badly, CAPTAIN ED GALLREIN IS A WINNER WHO WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN,” Trump said. “Should he decide to challenge Massie, Captain Ed Gallrein has my Complete and Total Endorsement.”
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology-educated Massie entered Congress in 2012. He represents a conservative district stretching across northern Kentucky that includes a mix of rural and suburban voters.
Massie’s reputation as a contrarian willing to buck GOP leaders goes back years. In 2020, during Trump’s first term, he tried to stall a COVID-19 relief package. Trump berated him then as a “third rate Grandstander” who should be tossed from the GOP. The smackdown was a bump in the road for Massie, who cruised to reelection. In 2022, Trump endorsed Massie, calling him a “Conservative Warrior” and a “first-rate Defender of the Constitution.”
Now Massie faces the prospect of running against Trump's vaunted political operation.
“Since he got elected, he’s never faced a candidate who’s both well financed and well qualified," Watson said. "So this will be a unique challenge for him. However, he’s a very unique member of Congress.”
Several candidates besides Massie have filed with the Federal Election Commission for the campaign in Kentucky’s 4th District. The winner of the Republican nomination will be heavily favored in the November general election in a district last represented by a Democrat two decades ago.
