KENTUCKY — U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie faces a Republican primary challenge in Kentucky's 4th District on May 19, 2026, from former Navy SEAL officer Ed Gallrein, who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Pro-Israel groups and donors are running campaign ads against Massie in the primary, portraying him as not conservative enough and highlighting his vote against a tax bill supported by Trump.

One ad, released by the political action committee MAGA KY, featured AI-generated footage of Massie holding hands with Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. The ad said Massie was caught in a "throuple" that is "worse than adultery" with the two female legislators.

According to Federal Election Commission records, MAGA KY received nearly $1 million from America 21 PAC, which is funded by billionaire investor Paul Singer. Singer is the top individual donor to MAGA KY and a top funder of the election arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

"Massie's primary is an interesting one to watch because it'll show if podcasters and social media can drive out the vote in a material way. It's unlimited money on the other end," right-wing commentator Mike Cernovich posted on X.

Massie has opposed unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel and has opposed U.S. military action against Iran. Since the war on Gaza began, he has publicly questioned why U.S. taxpayers are funding alleged Israeli rights violations abroad. He has also teamed up with Democrats to oppose U.S. military campaigns abroad, and worked with Democratic Representative Ro Khanna to sponsor a bill compelling the Justice Department to release government files related to Jeffrey Epstein, pushing for their release against the White House's wishes.

Massie was born in a town in the Appalachian hills in West Virginia near Kentucky and Ohio, and earned an engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He founded a company that pioneered virtual reality technology and registered dozens of patents before selling the firm to pursue politics. He and his family moved to Kentucky in 2003, and he became judge-executive of Lewis County in 2011 before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012.

In the first vote of his full congressional term, Massie joined 11 other Republicans in voting against the election of Speaker John Boehner and was the only member to vote for Justin Amash. In 2022, he voted against a bill to make lynching a federal crime. In 2021, he posted a Christmas photo of himself and family members holding semi-automatic rifles. He married his high school sweetheart Rhonda, with whom he had four children; she died of an illness in 2024.