SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massey has sought help from his major ally, Sen. Rand Paul, as Rep. Maverick tries to avoid the president. Donald Trump’s The threat of banishing him from Congress.
Massy runs straight to him The toughest political battle A super PAC, launched by Trump’s aide, attacks him, and he awaits a potential challenge from someone who has been supported by the president. Massey has drawn the president’s rage over his opposition to him on budget and foreign policy issues, but despite Trump’s popularity in Bluegrass state, he is betting that Kentucky will accept his independent streak.
On Thursday, Massey concluded his two-day swing through his district with Paul, who supports lawmakers and shares Massey’s libertarian trends. Massey says Paul’s support provides “a offset from Donald Trump’s support for someone else and presumed support.”
Massey was used to winning biased margins and became the first Republican incumbent in Congress in the 2026 midterm elections targeted for defeat by Trump and his political team. He is about eight months away from the GOP Primary, which will be held in May.
“This is definitely something I’m sure. If I just give up, I’ll lose,” Massey said in an interview this week. “But the problem is, I’ll never give up, and people know that.”
Anyone who wins a Republican nomination will receive much support in the November general election in the last district represented by Democrats 20 years ago.
Massie and Paul have a reputation for standing up to the Washington leader. This is the dynamics that Paul said he would bring them home with his voters.
“I think there’s a difference between Kentucky and DC,” Paul told reporters Wednesday. “Yeah, Thomas Massey or Rand Paul isn’t popular in DC. So we’re popular at home because people aren’t very happy with what’s going on in Washington.”
So far, a small number of candidates other than Massey have submitted to the Federal Election Commission for a campaign in the Kentucky District 4. It includes Republicans Niki Lee Zeton and Robert Wells, and Democrats Elizabeth Mason Hill and Jesse Brewer.
Rocky relationship with Massy and Trump
The relationship between Massie and Trump has now gone on to another charge this year. The lawmakers opposed Large tax and spending reduction package Trump calls it “beautiful,” but Massey says it will increase the debt of the people and hurt the economy. Massey attracted Trump’s rage over the president’s statement that he lacked the authority to attack Iran’s nuclear sites without Congress’ approval. and Massy is on the front line Because of efforts to force the publication of case files regarding sex trafficking investigations.
Trump unleashed Massie on his social media platform this summer.
“Thomas Massey, the worst Republican Congressman and a vote that is barely guaranteed every time, is embarrassing to Kentucky. He’s lazy, slow-moving, completely dishonest – a real loser.
Massie said he is at a more crisis than his own future – Congress’ role in checking the power of the president and its GOP members vote against Trump’s wishes without fear of retaliation.
“This race is a referendum on whether someone can become independent within the Republican Party,” Massey said in an interview. “And a lot of my colleagues watch this race. They ask me every week how it goes.”
He said Trump’s attack on him was intended to line up his Republican colleagues.
The battle for the Bucks begins
Massie has stepped up its funding in preparation for a strong major challenge. He said he accumulated more accumulation this year than he grew up in two years, with an average of $500,000 per quarter contributions this year. Massie said in his own early ads that he was being attacked to “hold Washington’s machines accountable,” saying, “I’m not folded, I’m fighting.
MIT-educated Massie attended Congress in late 2012. He represents a conservative district that spans northern Kentucky, which includes a mix of rural and suburban voters.
Massy’s reputation as a paradox that is willing to back up GOP leaders can go back many years. During Trump’s first term in 2020, he Covid-19 Relief Package. Trump accused him of the “third rate ancestor” that should be thrown off the GOP. Smackdown was a road-clash for Massey, who cruised for reelection. 2022, Trump supported Massie, He calls him a “conservative warrior” and “first-class defender of the constitution.”
“People remember that. They know that sometimes people get on the bad side of him, and sometimes they’re on the good side of him,” Massie said.
Massy unleashes first attack
In the same interview, Massie found a way to attack candidates who remain hypothetical at this point.
“If you’re trying to recruit politically aware, politically keen candidates and have existing political capital and name IDs, they’re willing to put it in danger with a long odds of beating me,” Massie said. “And if you find a candidate who has no political capital and is not paying attention, they are probably not very good candidates.”
Todd McMurtry, who lost to Massey in the 2020 Republican primary, describes him as a “closureist who achieved little.” He said a strong challenger could get him off, but that wouldn’t be easy.
“I’m sure anyone who opposes him is in ruins,” McMurtry said in an email Wednesday.
Former GOP Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson said Massie’s willingness to oppose Trump’s priorities will be reduced in both ways when he confronts his own principles. He will make a sacrifice to him along with voters who want a stronger voice for Trump, but appeal to voters who focus on reducing federal spending and bringing greater transparency to the Epstein case.
“I’ve always been more bullish than most people about Massey’s chances of reelection,” Grayson said in an email Wednesday. “The fact that after months of recruitment, no meaningful challengers have stepped up has only strengthened my views on Massy’s potential for reelection.”
