Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) won a three-way Republican primary on Tuesday night, paving the way for an eighth term representing deep-red Kentucky.
Massie’s decisive victory comes at a tumultuous time for House Republicans and for himself.
A liberal Republican, he joins three Republican rebels pushing to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) from power over bipartisan initiatives on government spending and foreign aid. He was one of them. The proposal failed earlier this month when a number of Democrats joined majority Republicans to block a vote in the entire House.
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Representative Thomas Massie has long been known as a Republican who is not afraid to stand up to House leadership. (Getty Images)
Mr. Massey told reporters in late April that even though many Republicans were lining up to ridicule the effort and warn it would cost the November election, voters were convinced that their He told reporters that he supports it.
“There was no blowback,” Massey said at the time. “I explained the problem with Mike Johnson and the three big betrayals that he committed to a majority of Republicans here and a majority of Republicans back home, and they understand, too.”
He is also one of the few Republicans who did not shy away from confronting former President Donald Trump.
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Reps. Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Paul Gosar tried to force out Speaker Mike Johnson. (Getty Images)
Massey was one of the most vocal surrogates in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ now-defunct presidential primary. He recently accused President Trump of a “ridiculous bullying tactic” for calling on Republicans to challenge Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.).
His primary victory on Tuesday came despite millions of dollars being spent against him by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a nonpartisan pro-Israel lobbying group that has spent heavily this cycle against lawmakers who oppose bills that affirm U.S. support for Israel and condemn anti-Semitism.
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Massey clashed with former President Trump many times. (Photo credit: SETH WENIG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
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But he dismissed AIPAC’s threat in a statement to voters before polls closed, saying of It’s a referendum on freedom of speech, privacy, and freedom of speech. [Second Amendment]AIPAC claims to have spent $400,000 on me. They won’t be happy tonight! ”
His challengers included former Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Eric Deters and Michael McGinnis, a self-described “sixth generation Kentuckian,” according to his campaign website.
