'Total disaster': Trump eyes Massie in latest MAGA purge

When early voting began in Kentucky's May 19 primary election, Lisa Robbins was ready to pull the lever for Rep. Thomas Massie, a libertarian-leaning Republican known in Congress to often be a lone vote, especially within his own party when it comes to resisting the Trump administration.

The 66-year-old retired sales executive voted for the eight-term lawmaker in every previous election.

"It's my understanding that Massie votes to minimize spending," Robins told USA TODAY in an interview.

But she admits she was confused when comparing his voting record to the deluge of attack ads being launched by President Donald Trump and his allies.

One AI-generated video funded by a group called MAGA KY claimed Massie is "cheating" on Trump's movement with House Democrats.

The spot depicts Massie holding hands and dining with Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, two well-known progressives, before showing a hotel room door closing: "This is worse than adultery," a narrator says.

Like some other high-profile Republican primaries in 2026, Massie's race centers on Trump's top priority within his party: purging those who defy him.

Trump's supporters have spent millions of dollars to help Massie's challenger Ed Gallrein, a dairy farmer and retired Navy SEAL who has been endorsed by the president.

It will be another test of whether Republican primary voters care more about ideological purity and independence or loyalty to the president. The result will send a message to other congressional Republicans who consider defying Trump.

"Most (Republicans) are terrified of saying or doing anything that doesn't 100% conform to whatever Trump's diktats are at any given time," Republican consultant Liz Mair said.

'Pathetic loser' to 'worst person': Trump attacks Massie

Trump called Massie a "pathetic loser" over his criticisms of U.S. airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites in 2025. And the president referred to the congressman as the "worst person" and a "total disaster" during a March visit to Massie's district, which snakes along the Ohio River from Louisville's eastern suburbs through northern Kentucky and into outlying parts of Appalachia.

Trump won that area by about 35 percentage points in 2024 with support from voters like Robbins, who voted for him all three times he's run for president.

But she said Trump has gone "overboard" with the personal digs.

"I understand Trump's sense of urgency," Robins said. "However, to go out and endorse somebody with such anger towards their opponents makes me question Gallrein. Is Gallrein just going to do everything Trump says?"

Massie: Trump changed after first term, breaking MAGA promises

Asked if dissent is allowed in the current GOP, the congressman asserted that he hasn't changed over the years as much as the president has. Trump went from an outsider who galvanized the country by taking on the so-called swamp in Washington during the first administration, he said, to someone more aligned with "D.C. creatures" such as Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. and others, when he returned to the White House.

The congressman points to many of Trump's broken promises, such as a pledge to bring fiscal responsibility through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. He points out the One Big Beautiful Bill Act -- which he was one of two Republicans who voted against -- added about $3.8 trillion to the deficit. 

"That's the difference. He's decided he can't beat them, to join them," Massie told USA TODAY in a May 14 interview.

"We all thought after the assassination attempt (in Butler, Pennsylvania) and then him winning, that he would be even more galvanized to go against the establishment," he added. "But he's been cooperating with them on spending, on wars and that's the 10% of the time that I don't vote with him, that's got me in trouble."

Should Massie survive, the thinking goes, it might signal for House Republicans that they can somewhat tiptoe away from the administration, which might be prudent to keep their seats amid rising gas prices sparked by an unpopular war in Iran.

But if he falls, it will likely reminded GOP figures ahead of the midterm elections that Trump is still the boss.

Kentucky voters brushed off Trump's demands to "throw Massie out of Republican Party" in 2020 after he called him a "third rate Grandstander" on social media. Massie coasted to victory in that primary carrying roughly 80% of the vote.

Polling tells a different tale during this election, with Gallrein ahead by roughly five percentage points among likely GOP voters, according to a Quantus Insights survey released a week before the election. That marks a significant shift from a previous poll by the same firm which showed Massie leading by about nine percentage points in April.

Massie told USA TODAY internal polls show him up by about two percentage points in an effective tie with his most credible challenger to date.

But the recent public survey shows fault lines among Republicans that could turn this race into a generational battle at a time when national polls show younger conservatives souring on Trump.

Massie holds a massive 48% lead among voters age 18-29 and a 42% lead among those age 30-44 in the Quantus poll, for example. Gallrein is up by about 5% with people age 45-64 and he holds a significant 30% lead with voters age 65 or older.

Rebecca Wilson, a homeschooled 18-year-old student from Shelby County, Ky., said as a first-time voter she trusts Massie because of his opposition to massive omnibus bills. She said younger Kentuckians are more skeptical about the country's direction.

"We are conservatives. We are Republicans," Wilson said in an interview. "We cannot approve of what the Republican Party is doing right now."

Donnie Hargadon, 21, from Waddy, Ky., said voters impressed by Gallrein's background as a Navy SEAL tend to be from older generations. He attributes that to them being more likely to support military intervention overseas, which has reportedly sparked skepticism among conservatives in this race.

Massie makes the recent University of Kentucky graduate feel represented in Washington whereas Gallrein, he said, will be more "like Trump's lap dog."

Gallrein casts Massie as Democrat's 'MVP' while pledging loyalty to Trump

During a May 14 campaign stop in Simpsonville, Ky. at Purnell's "Old Folks" Country Sausage, Gallrein, who has declined debating Massie multiples times, slammed the incumbent for opposing key Republican initiatives.

He also stressed the importance of party unity going into the fall elections, saying Massie has "burned every bridge" with Republicans in the district and in Washington.

"Unless you're a radical Democrat," Gallrein said. "He's their MVP."

Massie has been praised by House Democrats, such as Rep. Ro Khanna, of California, who was the other lead co-sponsor of the bill that forced the Epstein files release. He described the Kentucky Republican as "a man of character" in a May 14 post on X.

"He is the type of Congressman our founders envisioned," Khanna said of Massie.

Party-line votes have been especially critical in the House, given the GOP's razor-thin 217-212 margin.

An analysis of voting patterns in the 119th Congress by Fox News, for instance, said Massie sided against his party on 73 occasions or 22.3% of the time. The next highest Republican on that list is Rep. Chip Roy, of Texas, who went against the House majority on 53 occasions, accounting for 15.7% of his votes last year.

Asked by USA TODAY how he would handle a disagreement with the Trump administration, Gallrein drew on his military service saying the two can talk privately.

"He'll take my call. I'll be able to have a conversation with him. I do not lack for courage," he said. "Rest assured, I'll have a relationship with the president, so he will let me speak my mind, and I'll do that for these folks in these 21 counties, and for our party and for our nation."

Massie for his part has showcased support from key Kentucky officials, most notably Sen. Rand Paul, who has endorsed him. He's also receiving support from a flock of younger right-leaning online activists and colleagues in Congress, such as Rep. Lauren Boebert, of Colorado, who stumped for him at a May 15 campaign event.

Boebert praised both Massie and Trump, calling the two "my friend" in a May 15 post on X.

"I support both of these men," she said. "I've worked with both to preserve freedom and liberty. And if that makes you angry, bless your heart."

But Massie's critics in the district say the congressman's electoral troubles stem from more than opposing the White House.

They argue since he was first elected in 2012 that he has failed to build coalitions, alienated the business community and opposed funding for significant infrastructure projects, such as the Brent Spence Bridge that connects Kentucky to Ohio.

"After seven terms, a guy should be leading important committees or co-chairing," said Republican Steve Frank, a former Covington, Ky. city official who once supported Massie but plans to back Gallrein.

"He's not. He's frozen out. He does not know how to build a coalition. He's constitutionally incapable of it, which is the only way to be effective in a legislature of any size."

Most expensive House race in U.S. history with heavy Israeli lobby role

Massie acknowledges that dissent can be frowned up in Washington, given the tight legislative margins in Congress.

But he says he doesn't regret his stances, such as demanding more transparency from the U.S. Department of Justice when it comes to releasing of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The other elephant in the campaign has been his criticism of the U.S. relationship with Israel, Massie said.

Several MAGA-aligned figures have called out the administration's cozy ties with the foreign ally, which reportedly urged Trump to launch this year's war against Iran. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson called the president a "slave" to Israel back in April, for instance.

"It was last summer when these ads were starting and at that point, I realized this is probably above President Trump and (Speaker) Mike Johnson's pay grade to even stop this attack because it's motivated by the Israeli lobby," Massie told USA TODAY.

A massive amont of money has poured into this primary campaign, making it the most expensive House primary in U.S. history, according to citing AdImpact data, with about $26 million put toward advertising.

MAGA KY, for instance, which is run by Chris LaCivita, a close Trump advisor, has spent nearly $2.3 million on ads ripping Massie, with close to $500,000 more going to pro-Gallrein commercials.

The Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund, meanwhile, has put just over $2.5 million in ads backing Gallrein and another expense of more than $360,000 to attack Massie.

Much of that is being underwritten by three pro-Israel billionaires with deep pockets, including GOP megadonors Paul Singer and John Paulson. Another major donor against Massie's reelection has been Miriam Adelson, widow of the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who was a fierce defender of Israel.

The congressman has been critical of the Middle East nation, U.S. involvement in the Israel-Hamas war and of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a lobbying group commonly known as AIPAC. He introduced legislation in Congress this month that would strengthen disclosure requirements related to foreign lobbying — he named the bill the Americans Insist on Political Agent Clarity Act, a wink at AIPAC’s acronym.

Massie has been outspent, but he isn’t totally outgunned. Kentucky First, a PAC supporting the congressman, has spent more than $1 million to support him. Kentucky 4th PAC has also reported spending more than $1.3 million in ads against Gallrein.

The avalanche in spending has resulted in an all-out war on TV and smartphone screens across Kentucky and nearby states with shared ad markets.

Among the harshest is a controversial minute-long spot released in May from Hold the Line PAC that tied Gallrein to Singer, a Republican who has supported gay marriage. The ad described the hedge fund manager as a "far-left transgender activist" arguing "the gay mafia will own Woke Eddie" and "if Gallrein wins, the weirdos will take over."

PAC advertising takes place without input from campaigns, which are run as a separate operation.

"I have been careful to make my brand to fashion it after my constituents, independently minded Republicans who stick to their principles," Massie said.

"And I do think it helps that I've always explained my votes and maintained a large degree of independence because if you were to travel my district and talk to a dozen voters, I think you'd find it probably half of them will tell you: 'Well, I don't agree with Massie all the time, but I know he's principled.'"