Trump's Revenge Tour Continues: Massie Falls in Kentucky Primary

Donald Trump's campaign to punish Republican dissenters moved into overdrive this week, and the results were unmistakable. In Kentucky's 4th Congressional District, a seat that had reliably elected Thomas Massie by roughly 30 percentage points, voters instead chose Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL who carried Trump's explicit backing. It was the latest casualty in what has become a systematic effort to remake the Republican Party in Trump's image—one primary at a time.

Massie had accumulated years of grievances in Trump's eyes. The two had clashed over government spending, the Jeffrey Epstein files, American support for Israel, and a host of other issues. But what began as policy disagreement had calcified into something more personal. On Tuesday, Trump called Massie "a terrible congressman" and questioned whether he was even a Republican. The president had visited Kentucky in March to campaign against him, and on Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an unusual trip to the district to campaign alongside Gallrein, urging voters to send "reinforcements" to Trump in Congress. The primary itself became one of the most expensive congressional races on record, with nearly $20 million spent supporting Gallrein and $14 million backing Massie.

Massie's defeat sent a clear message to Republicans in Washington and state capitals across the country: Trump remains the party's dominant force. His approval rating had slipped to the mid-30s, and some of his most loyal demographic groups were beginning to drift away. Yet he still possessed the power to end political careers, and he was eager to use it. In just over two weeks, Trump had already toppled five Indiana state senators who opposed his redistricting push and Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, a two-term incumbent who had voted to convict him in 2021.

Kentucky's other major primary contest revealed the same dynamic at work. Mitch McConnell, once the most powerful Republican in the country and a titan of Kentucky politics, had fallen out of favor with Trump when he refused to amplify false claims about widespread fraud in the 2020 election. This week, McConnell's influence in his home state effectively ended. In the Republican primary to replace the retiring senator, Trump's choice—Representative Andy Barr—defeated Daniel Cameron, who had once been seen as McConnell's political protégé and a rising star in the party. Trump had not merely endorsed Barr; he had also cleared the field by convincing businessman Nate Morris, another major contender, to abandon his campaign in exchange for an ambassadorship. All three candidates had begun their political careers as McConnell interns. But the primary made clear how thoroughly McConnell's power had eroded. Cameron had turned against his former mentor and embraced Trump. McConnell himself had endorsed no one. Barr's victory positioned him as the heavy favorite to become Kentucky's next senator—and to replace a voice that had occasionally resisted Trump with an unconditional presidential ally.

Georgia's Republican gubernatorial primary, held the same day, will head to a runoff after no candidate cleared 50 percent. Vice Governor Burt Jones, backed by Trump, will face businessman Rick Jackson in the second round. Both outpaced Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whose national profile had grown after he refused to validate Trump's false election fraud claims, and Attorney General Chris Carr.

But perhaps the most consequential endorsement came in Texas, where Trump threw his weight behind controversial Attorney General Ken Paxton in a May 26 runoff against four-term Senator John Cornyn. Paxton, a polarizing figure with a long history of scandals and a devoted follower of Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement, had moved quickly to challenge the 2020 election results in court. Cornyn, by contrast, had voted with Trump 99 percent of the time but had partnered with Democrats on gun safety legislation in 2022 and had been slow to embrace Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. In a Truth Social post, Trump called Paxton "someone who has been extremely loyal to me and to our AMAZING MAGA MOVEMENT," while describing Cornyn as a "good man" who had not supported him "when times were hard." The message was unmistakable: loyalty to Trump personally mattered more than party establishment credentials or legislative record. If Paxton wins and then defeats Democrat James Talarico in November, it would represent another significant reshuffling of the Senate Republican caucus in Trump's favor.