海角大神

Thomas Massie is a Trump nemesis on the right. Now, he could lose his seat in Congress.

Molly Metz stands outside a TV station in Lexington waiting for Thomas Massie to emerge. A five-time world jump-rope champion, Ms. Metz spent the day knocking on doors for the seven-term Republican congressman 鈥� her first time volunteering for any candidate.

She鈥檚 not actually from Kentucky. She and her husband flew here from Colorado to volunteer. In fact, she鈥檚 not even a Republican on paper, but is registered as 鈥渦naffiliated.鈥�

Yet Ms. Metz, who鈥檚 waving a Massie sign and sporting a Massie hat and T-shirt, is all in, saying she sees few other politicians in the United States standing on principle and delivering for the people the way he has.

鈥淭homas is doing everything Trump set out to do,鈥� she says.

Ms. Metz is part of a broader coalition that Mr. Massie actually credits President Donald Trump with forming: a mashup of right-wing populists, libertarian-minded independents, establishment Republicans, and some disgruntled Democrats 鈥� all under the MAGA umbrella.

Lately, however, that coalition has been fracturing. Mr. Trump, beset by challenges at home and abroad as he closes in on his final years in office, is alienating supporters and lashing out at anyone he views as less than loyal. Like Mr. Massie.

鈥淓ach [group in the MAGA coalition] is not that large, and the president doesn鈥檛 need to run for office again. So, he鈥檚 prone to sticking his finger in their eyes,鈥� says Mr. Massie, sitting in a Panera in Lexington. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 at the expense of our Republican Party.鈥�

Mr. Massie, an MIT grad and engineer who was first elected to Congress in 2012 during the tea party wave, has always been a somewhat different kind of Republican. He describes himself as a true conservative 鈥� anti-abortion and pro-gun, opposed to foreign aid and foreign wars. A deficit hawk, he has for years proudly worn on his lapel. And as he points out, he votes with his party 90% of the time.

But it鈥檚 the other 10% that often draws attention, and that has put him squarely in Mr. Trump鈥檚 crosshairs heading into Tuesday鈥檚 primary election. Last year, Mr. Massie voted against the president鈥檚 One Big Beautiful Bill Act because it increased the national debt. He has been an outspoken critic of the war in Iran, sponsoring a War Powers Resolution to try to force the administration to terminate hostilities.

And he spearheaded the effort to release the Epstein files, which Mr. Trump block. The president personally recruited Ed Gallrein, a farmer and retired Navy SEAL officer, to run against Mr. Massie in what has become one of the most expensive primaries in the history of the House, topping more than $25 million in ad spending.

To his supporters, Mr. Massie is a kind of Capitol Hill unicorn: a rare lawmaker who resists the pull of partisan politics and votes his conservative values, for the good of his constituents and his country.

To critics, he鈥檚 more of an eccentric attention-seeker: a politician who in recent years gained a huge online following with his maverick brand of Republicanism, precisely because he often causes problems for his own party and, especially, his own president.

Most polling has shown Mr. Massie, who has handily won all his previous elections, in a very tight race with Mr. Gallrein. Some recent polls have put Mr. Gallrein ahead.

鈥淭his is really a battle between party unity and ideological purity,鈥� says Stephen Voss, an associate professor of political science at the University of Kentucky.

Mr. Massie, who lives off the grid on a 1,500-acre farm in Garrison, Kentucky, in a timber-framed house he built from trees on his property, embodies a type of small-government conservatism that has unique appeal in this part of the country, Professor Voss says. Yet many Kentucky voters also 鈥渞ecognize that Donald Trump is moving policy in a direction they like.鈥� These voters will have to choose which they value more.

The one endorsement that matters

There was a time when Mr. Massie lobbied hard for Donald Trump鈥檚 endorsement. Back in 2020, he even in South Florida to try to get the president鈥檚 attention. He secured Mr. Trump鈥檚 backing in 2022.

But the relationship between the two men, which has always been marked by , now appears unrepairable. In recent weeks, Mr. Trump has called the Kentucky lawmaker the 鈥� Republican Congressman in decades,鈥� a 鈥�,鈥� and 鈥�.鈥�

The final days of the race will be a turnout game. Mr. Massie has been campaigning at a breakneck pace, attending candidate forums and speaking to voters at county dinners between votes in Washington. As a 14-year incumbent who frequently makes news, he is widely known in his northeastern Kentucky district.

Mr. Gallrein, by contrast, is a blank slate who has never served in public office. He did not agree to any debates with Mr. Massie, and has made relatively few campaign appearances.

Still, to some voters, all that matters is that the president has endorsed one candidate and excoriated the other.

鈥淲hoever we have, I don鈥檛 want them to vote against Trump鈥檚 bills,鈥� says Shirley, a retired human resources manager who declined to give her last name. Shirley, who lives in the Kentucky suburbs just south of Cincinnati, voted for Mr. Trump in all three of his presidential elections and plans to vote in Tuesday鈥檚 House primary. But not for Mr. Massie.

鈥淚鈥檒l be voting for the other man,鈥� she says.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to look past the Trump endorsement,鈥� Mr. Massie acknowledges in an interview. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the one political endorsement that matters.鈥�

Later, he checks his phone after sitting for a 30-minute conversation with a local TV station, which was intended to be a candidate forum until Mr. Gallrein declined to attend. 鈥淟et鈥檚 see what the Massie Moneybomb鈥檚 at,鈥� he says. 鈥�$75,000,鈥� he nods. Five days on, the 鈥渕oneybomb,鈥� fueled by small-dollar donations, passes $1 million, and later $2 million.

Kentucky鈥檚 4th Congressional District encompasses the outer suburbs of three cities 鈥� Cincinnati, Louisville, and Lexington 鈥� with three different media markets.

Mr. Massie has faced an onslaught of attacks from a Trump-aligned super PAC as well as several pro-Israel groups, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Republican Jewish Coalition. Some ads label Mr. Massie, who has been by figures on the left and the right, as and . This week, Mr. Massie introduced legislation that would require AIPAC to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which compels public disclosure of efforts on behalf of foreign interests.

In one now infamous anti-Massie ad, AI-generated video shows the congressman alongside progressive Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and labels the trio as 鈥渁 throuple.鈥� That ad, which generated outrage among Massie supporters, might have backfired 鈥� at least, based on how often Mr. Massie himself has been referencing it on the campaign trail. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so disgusting,鈥� he says to a group of voters, shaking his head.

Pro-Massie ads, meanwhile, have attacked Mr. Gallrein as 鈥渨oke,鈥� noting that he left the GOP and registered as an independent for several years before rejoining the party.

Mr. Trump noted as much at a rally with Mr. Gallrein , saying the candidate had come back to the party because of Mr. Trump鈥檚 leadership. Mr. Gallrein ran for the state Senate as a Republican in 2024 but lost narrowly in the primary.

鈥淛ust give me somebody with a warm body to beat Massie, and I got somebody with a warm body but a big, beautiful brain,鈥� Mr. Trump said at the rally in Hebron, Kentucky. 鈥淓d Gallrein has my complete and total endorsement.鈥�

鈥淚 want to thank you for your endorsement, because once you did that, my support skyrocketed,鈥� Mr. Gallrein responded, standing next to the president. 鈥淎s you folks know, you deserve an authentic, true Republican conservative that stands shoulder to shoulder with our president.鈥�

Mr. Gallrein鈥檚 campaign did not respond to numerous calls and emails from the Monitor.

鈥淭homas Massie is the conscience鈥�

In Shelbyville, near where Mr. Gallrein lives, several voters who say they know and like him personally nevertheless say they plan to vote for Mr. Massie. One woman, who asks that her name not be used, says she regrets voting for Mr. Trump in 2024 and appreciates Mr. Massie鈥檚 principled stands more than ever. 鈥淗e looks at the facts 鈥� he鈥檚 not voting straight party,鈥� she says.

Another man, who also asks not to use his name because of his friendship with Mr. Gallrein, calls himself a strong Trump supporter but shrugs off the president鈥檚 attacks against Mr. Massie. 鈥淭rump has a 鈥榶ou hit me, I鈥檓 gonna hit harder鈥� strategy,鈥� he says. In his eyes, the president鈥檚 critiques of Mr. Massie 鈥渕ay have helped him as much as it hurt him.鈥�

For his part, Mr. Massie doesn鈥檛 see himself as 鈥渙pposing鈥� the president, but rather voting in the interests of his constituents.

鈥淧resident Trump and my opponent both misunderstand the chain of command for congressmen. If you鈥檙e a U.S. representative, who do you represent? Do you represent the president? No,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou report to 750,000 people in your congressional district.鈥�

鈥淭his is a referendum on whether people want a rubber stamp or not,鈥� he continues.

But some Republicans aren鈥檛 sure how closely Mr. Massie is listening to his constituents. 鈥淢assie has been very loved by Northern Kentucky,鈥� says Mike Fisher, chair of the Harrison County Republican Party. But 鈥渢he folks that have broken [away from him] and are on the Gallrein side have just said they鈥檝e had it and they want somebody who鈥檚 gonna support Trump.鈥�

鈥淎s much as I understand Thomas鈥� views, I鈥檓 not sure he understands the viewpoints of the public,鈥� says Mr. Fisher, who鈥檚 out talking with prospective voters amid his own campaign for the state legislature.

That perception gap appeared to grow, he adds, as Mr. Massie doggedly pushed for the release of the Epstein files. To some voters, it became too singular a focus. To Mr. Massie, it鈥檚 been a crusade for transparency and justice 鈥� exposing what he calls a 鈥溾�� of 鈥渞ich and powerful and political donors to the establishment.鈥�

Former state Sen. Paul Hornback worked with Mr. Massie in the Kentucky legislature, and says they share many values. But he鈥檚 worried Mr. Massie has alienated too many people in Washington. How can a congressman deliver for Kentucky if the president and his team won鈥檛 take his phone calls?

Although Mr. Massie voted yes on the Farm Bill in 2013 and again a couple weeks ago, as a farmer it irks Mr. Hornback that Mr. Massie voted no in 2018. Mr. Massie takes stands on issues Mr. Hornback sees as insignificant in the larger scheme of things, such as raw milk. 鈥淓d [Gallrein] is one that鈥檚 going to weigh all the stuff and do it right,鈥� he says.

There鈥檚 a fine line, he adds, between being principled and being inflexible. With Mr. Massie, it鈥檚 always 鈥渁ll or nothing. And that鈥檚 not the way legislation works,鈥� Mr. Hornback says. 鈥淭rump鈥檚 only got two years left, so you鈥檝e got to think past that.鈥�

Still, many Massie supporters say they trust the congressman to do what鈥檚 right, and see no contradiction supporting both him and Mr. Trump.

鈥淭rump restored the presidency. I like what he does there,鈥� says Gex Williams, a state senator who represents a district north of Frankfort. 鈥淏ut we have a coequal branch.鈥�

鈥淐ongress is broken,鈥� Mr. Williams avers. 鈥淎nd Thomas Massie is the conscience.鈥�