Former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein has won the Republican primary in Kentucky\u2019s 4th Congressional District over Rep. Thomas Massie, NBC News projects, notching another win for President Donald Trump in his push to eliminate political rivals and roadblocks within his own party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gallrein beat Massie in the most explosive fight of Trump\u2019s political pressure campaign, which wended its way from Indiana and Louisiana to Kentucky this month, all featuring primary challengers he endorsed. Gallrein was aided by an extraordinary advertising blitz fueled largely by pro-Trump and pro-Israel groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Massie, first elected to the House in 2012, had become an ever-present thorn in Trump\u2019s side. Trump traveled to the district in March to throw his political weight behind Gallrein and slammed Massie as a \u201cdisaster.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Known as an anti-war libertarian and deficit hawk, Massie drew ire from Trump and his allies for opposing the war in Iran, as well as Trump\u2019s \u201cbig, beautiful bill\u201d spending package. Massie, along with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., also was one of the chief proponents of releasing the Justice Department\u2019s files related to investigations of the late sex offender \u2014 and onetime Trump friend \u2014 Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Massie\u2019s prospects of outmaneuvering Trump became even more tenuous over the final days of the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Louisiana, Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican who similarly got crosswise with Trump, failed to advance from the party\u2019s primary in his re-election bid Saturday, underscoring how unflinchingly loyal GOP voters remain to Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And when Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo, campaigned with Massie, Trump threatened to revoke his endorsement of her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth traveled to Kentucky on Monday for a last-minute appearance with Gallrein \u2014 an unusual and overtly political move for a defense secretary but one the Defense Department said Hegseth was making in his personal capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a portion of the electorate who doesn\u2019t believe that Congress should be independent,\u201d Massie said in an interview last month. \u201cThey believe that, when the Republicans control the White House and the Congress, that Congress should just do whatever the president wants. But that\u2019s not how our government\u2019s set up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Massie faced an onslaught of ads, many of them negative, led by MAGA KY, a super PAC directed by Trump adviser Chris LaCivita. The group\u2019s attacks focused in part on immigration and border security provisions in Trump\u2019s spending bill. Pro-Israel groups affiliated with the Republican Jewish Coalition and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, also poured millions of dollars onto the state\u2019s airwaves to boost Gallrein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spots promoting Gallrein or attacking Massie accounted for more than $19 million of the $33 million spent on advertising in the primary, according to AdImpact, an ad-tracking firm. But pro-Massie forces made noise, as well. The Massie-aligned Kentucky 4th PAC aired a spot called \u201cTucked Tail And Ran\u201d that used war imagery to emphasize Gallrein\u2019s departure from the GOP during Trump\u2019s first term. The ad depicted Gallrein leaving Trump behind in a foxhole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gallrein kept a low profile, choosing to let Trump\u2019s endorsement speak for him and drawing criticism from Massie for dodging debates and other candidate forums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like they have a tracker on my car and keep from getting within 50 miles of me,\u201d Massie said last month. \u201cHe is scared to answer any question, even if I don\u2019t get to ask the questions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Massie\u2019s defeat follows other losses this month by Republican state lawmakers in Indiana who had resisted a Trump-backed congressional redistricting push. Five challengers endorsed by Trump defeated sitting state senators in their primaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another Trump victory came Saturday in Louisiana, where Cassidy, who had voted to convict Trump in his impeachment trial after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, finished third in his re-election primary. Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming advanced to a June 27 runoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Massie told NBC News last month that the outcome of his primary could determine whether more Republicans and Congress are willing to stand up to Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey\u2019re trying to decide,\u201d Massie said, \u201ccould they win an election?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n