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President Donald Trump spared little expense and political capital in targeting Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) in the contentious marquee race of an Election Day in which voters from multiple states will decide which candidates will represent them in November or advance to a runoff.
The Republican brouhaha for Kentucky’s Fourth Congressional District is perhaps the most high-profile primary of the 2026 cycle, with the Texas GOP Senate primary the only other contender. Trump went all-in for Ed Gallrein in the race against Massie, visiting the district himself in recent weeks and dispatching Secretary of War Pete Hegseth – in a private capacity – to the state to campaign with Gallrein Monday.
The President is riding high in recent weeks after securing retribution against most of the Indiana State Senators who voted against his redistricting plan and the defeat of Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA). Cassidy failed to make the runoff Saturday against Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow and State Treasurer John Fleming. Republicans received more good news after the Supreme Court kneecapped Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, permitting states primarily in the South to end the unconstitutional forced gerrymandering based on race that secured double-digit seats for Democrats each year in red states. And the Virginia Supreme Court ruled a successful referendum in Virginia to gerrymander congressional district lines was a violation of Virginia state law.
Voters Tuesday also go to the polls in Oregon, Idaho, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Alabama. There are multiple notable primaries for House races throughout those states.
Perhaps the biggest races are in Georgia and Alabama. The Peach State held Republican primaries to replace Gov. Brian Kemp (R), who is term limited, and for the right to take on Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) in November. In the Yellowhammer State, Republicans are fighting to replace Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R), who faces no real opposition in his race for that state’s governorship.
Polls close at 7pm ET in Georgia and Kentucky, 8pm ET in Alabama and Pennsylvania, 10pmET in Idaho, and 11pm ET in Oregon.
UPDATE 8:17 p.m. ET:
It’s hard to overstate how big of a thorn in Trump’s side Massie has been – and how great of a victory Gallrein’s win is for the president. Massie has opposed Trump on every significant initiative he has proposed. He voted against bills to keep Trump’s government funded and opened. He voted against the Big, Beautiful Bill, the historic package containing the bulk of Trump’s campaign platform. He partnered with radical Democrat Ro Khanna from California to force through a bill ostensibly to release what is known as the Epstein files, but which instead caused trouble for Trump – who is not credibly accused of any wrongdoing and has been revealed to have been one of the first prominent celebrities to sound the alarm on Epstein, even banning him from Mar-A-Lago – and halted his agenda, while resulting in no additional perpetrators being brought to justice.
Put simply, no Democrat has been as effective as stopping Trump’s agenda as Thomas Massie has been. And now, after Trump went all-in to take him out, his political career is over.
Massie will continue to oppose Trump until his term is up in January 2027 – unless he quits early like his friend and supporter, Marjorie Taylor Greene – but he would have done so regardless. This is an unmistakable victory for Trump, and a strong message to Republicans that Trump remains the unchallenged leader of the party.
The price was high in dollars – this was the most expensive House primary in the nation’s history, but the investment was worth every penny for Trump.
UPDATE 8:04 p.m. ET:
Trump-backed challenger and political newcomer Ed Gallrein has defeated longtime Rep. Thomas Massie, according to the Associated Press and multiple other outlets who have called the race. The massive upset is the latest in a string of victories for Trump who has waged an unprecedentedly successful war against Republicans who have fought him and his agenda.
UPDATE 7:45 p.m. ET:
With 44 percent of the projected vote in, Gallrein leads Massie 55.3 percent to 44.7 percent, according to the New York Times. This one is getting closer to being called.
UPDATE 7:40 p.m. ET:
Georgia is an interesting state to watch. In the GOP Senate primary, Rep. Mike Collins has been the consistent polling leader of late, although he is unlikely to avoid a runoff. Rep. Buddy Carter and Gov. Brian Kemp-backed former football coach Derek Dooley have been battling to join Collins in the runoff, with Dooley gaining his polling footing recently due to an influx of spending. Trump has not endorsed.
The winner will take on Ossoff, who has kept his head down, mostly avoided controversy, and raised enough campaign funds to provide for a small village of consultants and their families.
But in the GOP gubernatorial primary, Trump endorsed longtime ally Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. That race was upended when billionaire businessman Rick Jackson joined the race late. Jackson has self-financed his campaign to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. In a relatively crowded field, those two are expected to battle to win the plurality of votes as the two are the projected candidates to advance to the runoff.
UPDATE 7:29 p.m. ET:
With 21 percent of the expected vote in, Gallrein leads Massie 56.5% to 43.5 percent, according to the New York Times.
In the lead-up to Election Day, political prognosticators grew bolder in predicting Gallrein would defeat Massie. Signs look good for Gallrein, but much more of the vote needs to come in before this one is called. Stay tuned.
UPDATE 7:20 p.m. ET:
Polls closed 20 minutes ago in Georgia and Kentucky, where we’ll begin seeing more races called soon.
Hanging over today’s Election Day is Trump’s endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in Texas. Trump’s muscle flex-endorsement of his reliable ally is a hammer blow to establishment Republican Senators and an indication of how firmly he is in charge of the Republican Party.
Trump set Washington abuzz after announcing he would be endorsing in that race late Tuesday morning in response to a question from Breitbart News White House Correspondent Nick Gilbertson.
UPDATE 7:08 p.m. ET:
The Associated Press has called the Kentucky Senate Republican primary for Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY). Barr, a proud pupil of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), recieved Trump’s endorsement in recent weeks after the MAGA grassroots-preferred candidate, businessman Nate Morris – who had been slain Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk’s final endorsement before his assassination – failed to catch fire. Upon endorsing Barr, Trump announced he would nominate Morris to an ambassadorship. Barr defeated another McConnell acolyte, former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron.
Barr will be the heavy favorite to replace McConnell.
This story will be updated throughout the evening.
Bradley Jaye is Political Editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye.
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