Inside the wild $25 million fight to oust top GOP Trump critic Thomas Massie

AXIOS·2h ago·4 min read

Photograph via Axios

RSS SUMMARY · AGGREGATED FROM AXIOS

The fight between Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and President Trump-backed rival Ed Gallrein is now the most expensive U.S. House primary in history — and it's one of the nastiest, too.Why it matters: The race has turned into an all-out war of inflammatory accusations, savage insults and AI deepfakes.One pro-Gallrein super PAC ad features an AI-generated Massie dining and holding hands with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), accusing him of being in a "throuple" and "cheating with 'The Squad' on the America First movement."Pro-Massie groups have attempted to brutally undermine Gallrein's MAGA credentials, labeling him "woke Eddie" and depicting the retired Navy SEAL in one AI-generated ad as a soldier abandoning Trump on a battlefield.Both candidates have attacked each other as being insufficiently conservative on a wide range of social issues, including diversity, equity and inclusion, transgender rights, Black Lives Matter, and immigration.By the numbers: All of this is backed up by more than $25.6 million in ad spending, according to AdImpact, which makes the fight between Massie and Gallrein the most expensive U.S. House primary in history.The record was previously broken in the 2024 election cycle when AIPAC spent a whopping $14.5 million to unseat Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), who was one of Congress' most vocal Israel critics, in a race that saw $25.2 million in overall ad spending.The Kentucky 4th district race could end up clearing that figure by a significant margin, with a week still to go until the May 19 primary.State of play: Massie, a doctrinaire isolationist and one of the few Republicans willing to publicly criticize Israel, is facing a similar barrage from pro-Israel groups.The Republican Jewish Coalition has spent $4 million on ads supporting Gallrein, with AIPAC super PAC United Democracy Project spending another $2.6 million, according to AdImpact.Massie's increasingly public breaks with Trump have made him the target of Trump-aligned group MAGA KY, which has spent $5.6 million on top of $1.3 million from the Gallrein campaign itself.Massie, a prodigious fundraiser, has spent $5.6 million on ads from his own campaign, with the pro-Massie groups Kentucky 4th PAC and Kentucky First PAC dropping another $4.6 million and $920,000, respectively.The intrigue: As if the tone of the race wasn't incendiary enough, a new ad goes so far as to portray pro-Gallrein donor Paul Singer, who is Jewish, with an unexplained rainbow star of David in the backdrop.The minute-long ad accuses Gallrein of being "bought and paid for by the LGBTQ mafia." Singer, a billionaire financier and GOP megadonor, is gay and has donated to LGBTQ+ rights causes."If Gallrein wins, the weirdos take over," the ad says, with text describing Gallrein's values as "freak values."Massie's campaign did not respond to requests for comment on this story, nor did Singer or his hedge fund Elliott Management. The details: The ad is being run by a group called Hold The Line PAC, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact.Hold The Line PAC previously spent in support of right-wing candidates Colton Moore in Georgia's 14th district and Jody Barrett in Tennessee's 7th district. Both lost special elections to more mainstream GOP rivals.Hold the Line PAC is spending $235,000 in TV ads supporting Massie and opposing Gallrein, and another $50,000 on campaign text messages, according to Federal Election Commission filings.Noel Fritsch, a conservative political consultant listed as the group's treasurer, did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Derrick Evans, a former West Virginia legislator and Jan. 6 rioter also associated with the PAC.Zoom in: The group's website says it is "focused on Restoring Election Integrity & the Rule of Law" by lobbying Republican lawmakers to crack down on processes such as mail-in voting.What they're saying: "Tom Massie's time as a politician is coming to a close and it's a shame to see him end his career this way," Gallrein advisor Tim Murtaugh said in a statement to Axios.The bottom line: Overall Massie is somewhat outgunned, with $10.7 million supporting him to $14.3 million supporting Gallrein.It's likely going to be a close race, with local GOP officials telling NOTUS they think Massie is genuinely vulnerable despite his popularity in the northeastern Kentucky district.