General Discussion

Out-of-State Money Helped Take Down Thomas Massie

The Kentucky house primary was hugely nationalized, with money pouring in from across the country

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky lost his Republican primary Tuesday night. He can blame, in part, donors with no discernible ties to his district.

“Welcome to the most expensive Congressional primary ever in the 250-year history of this country,” Massie said in his concession speech. “It started nine months ago — they didn’t even have a candidate and they decided they wanted to take me out.”

cut

Kentucky’s 4th District has seen $32.6M in ad spending, according to AdImpact. The two largest portions of that figure are for ads supporting Gallrein and ads attacking Massie.

Pro-Israel groups including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Republican Jewish Coalition played an outsized role in seeking to unseat Massie for his position on the war in Iran and broader politics concerning Israel. They poured millions of dollars into Gallrein’s campaigns and attack ads against Massie.

“How did this race become the most expensive race in the history of Congress, for a primary? It’s because three billionaires from outside of Kentucky have funneled millions of dollars here to try to buy a seat,” Massie said on ABC News’ “This Week.” “And so, it’s not just the president’s tweets. I can sustain those without a problem. It’s because Miriam Adelson and Paul Singer have dumped money in here.”

https://www.notus.org/2026-election/massie-gallrein-primary-spending-donors