Influencers flock to KY to support Thomas Massie in primary elections

• Massie is running for re-election against Ed Gallrein, who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
• A viral video calls on influencers to travel to Kentucky to campaign for Massie against what it calls "establishment opposition."
• The primary race between Massie and Gallrein is the most expensive U.S. House primary in history.

With Kentucky’s primary elections just days away, online creators are showing their support for U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie. Massie, a Republican who represents the 4th Congressional District, is running for re-election against Ed Gallrein. A May 11-12 survey from Quantus Insights has Massie trailing around five percentage points behind Gallrein, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump. Tiffany Cianci, an online content creator, took to X to call on influencers to travel to Kentucky ahead of the May 19 primary and support Massie, who she described as “a guy nobody’s ever heard of before.” “But Trump said that was fine because he just needed a warm body, and Kentucky voters would vote the way he told them to,” she said.

In her video, she said donors who have no ties to Kentucky are funding attack ads against Massie because he wanted the U.S. government to release information related to the investigation into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “I need you to tag every creator you know on this app, and I need you to tell them that we ride at dawn for Thomas Massie because that’s exactly what we need to do,” Cianci said. “I want every major creator that is available on this app. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, if you are against corruption in politics and you want to make a difference, I need you here in Northern Kentucky.” Since posting to X just before 11 p.m. May 12, Cianci’s video has been viewed more than 1.3 million times and has been reposted around 5,000 times, including by former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican who was a Trump ally before criticizing the administration’s policy goals and other congressional GOP members. In her response, Greene said Cianci’s post is how “you beat the machine of foreign donors, establishment media and political consultants” who are spending millions of dollars.

Erin Brantley, a political livestream host based in Colorado, also expressed her support on X with a post that garnered about 114,500 views.

"I'm flying to Kentucky because Thomas Massie’s primary is bigger than just one district," she said. "It’s about whether we are ready to welcome in the new era of representation or continue with the status quo."

She went on to ask viewers whether they want candidates influenced by money and special interest groups or "principled candidates" who stand with their beliefs despite external pressures.

The competition between Massie and Gallrein is the most expensive U.S. House primary in history, with more than $25 million spent on political ads, according to AdImpact.

The record was previously broken in 2024 when the American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent $14.5 million just to unseat U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat from New York who was a vocal critic of Israel.