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Massie Defeated in Primary Contest in Kentucky; Gallrein Secures Nomination

No doubt, this was the closest-watched contest of the evening. Thomas Massie has been a thorn in Trump’s side and a fringe character in the GOP fold, flirting with anti-Israel, antisemitic trends. Trump had endorsed Ed Gallrein, a form Navy SEAL with decades of service in our armed forces. Gallrein defeated Massie by a sizeable 9.4 percent (Decision Desk). Wall Street Journal: Trump wanted Massie, a seven-term lawmaker, gone after a series of high-profile run-ins. Massie was one of only two House GOP no votes on Trump’s “one big beautiful” tax bill last year, and then further annoyed the president by successfully pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, an effort that Trump called a Democratic-led hoax. Massie and Gallrein faced off in an exhausting campaign that set a record for the most expensive House race ever, featuring regular insults directed at Massie from the president and increasingly ugly ads from rival outside groups aimed at both candidates (Wall Street Journal). Josh Kraushaar: Antisemite til the end: Massie: “I would’ve come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent and concede, and it took a while to find Ed Gallrein in Tel Aviv.” #KY04 (Kraushaar). More from Matt Vespa at Townhall: It’s remarkable, considering Massie was once seen as one of the most insulated from MAGA wrath (Townhall).