Trump-backed nominees dominate primary contests as president tightens party vice grip
President Donald Trump was the biggest winner of Tuesday’s wide slate of primary elections as the president celebrated a large swath of his preferred candidates winning GOP primaries or advancing...
By Fox News · Fox News
President Donald Trump was the biggest winner of Tuesday’s wide slate of primary elections as the president celebrated a large swath of his preferred candidates winning GOP primaries or advancing to runoff elections. In the most expensive primary in U.S. House history, a longtime thorn in Trump’s side, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., lost to former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein in Kentucky’s 4th District. Gallrein defeated Massie soundly with nearly 55% of the vote to Massie’s 45.1%, according to The Associated Press. The defeat will mark the end to Massie’s congressional stint, a tenure which, toward its end, saw Massie increasingly opposing Trump and criticizing the president’s actions on trade deals, the Jeffrey Epstein files and the Iran war. In his concession speech, Massie highlighted the influx of support his opponent received from pro-Israel groups like the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). "I would have come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent to concede and it took a while to find him in Tel Aviv," he joked to his supporters Tuesday night. TRUMP TARGETS MASSIE IN EXPLOSIVE KENTUCKY SHOWDOWN AS SIX STATES HOLD HIGH-STAKES PRIMARIES Pro-Israeli groups like AIPAC and the Republican Jewish Coalition, as well as other pro-Trump groups, poured millions of dollars into attack ads against Massie and support ads for Gallrein. With over $32 million spent on the race overall, the contest became the most expensive primary in House history. Trump and surrogates, like Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, campaigned arduously against Massie in Kentucky and in national media, with Trump referring to Massie as the "Worst Republican Congressman in History" in one of many pre-primary attacks on Truth Social. Gallrein, for his part, thanked Trump for his support and told supporters "the winner of the race tonight is not so much Ed Gallrein… but it’s the Republicans of Kentucky Congressional District 4 and their families, who I will be a champion for in Washington." ANDY…