SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s Choice Thomas Massey, a maverick Republican congressman from Kentucky, announced his candidacy on Tuesday, pledging to staunchly support the president’s policies even as he described the incumbent as an obstructionist.
Retired Navy SEAL Ed Gullane entered the 4th District race with Trump’s support. he’ll get the president’s proud political activities A super PAC set up by Trump aides has already run ads attacking Massey. But he will face the incumbent Massie, a man with deep pockets and financial resources who has pushed aside challengers despite drawing the ire of President Trump.
“I have dedicated my life to serving my country, and I am ready to answer the call again,” Galine said in a release. “This district is Trump country. The president doesn’t need Congressional obstacles. He needs backup. I will defeat Thomas Massie, stand shoulder to shoulder with President Trump, and deliver the ‘America First’ results that Kentuckians voted for.”
The Republican primary election next May will test President Trump’s control over Republican politics. Gullane has never held elective office and lost in last year’s state Senate primary.
The president’s dominance was on full display this month in Tennessee. Candidates supported by President Trump He won the open seat in a crowded Republican primary.
Massey, a libertarian, joined Congress in 2012 and has won reelection by a wide margin. He has stepped up fundraising efforts in preparation for the toughest political battle of his career.
His reputation as a contrarian who resists Republican leaders goes back several years, but his conflict with President Trump reached a tipping point this year, when he opposed the president on key budget and foreign policy issues. Despite Trump’s popularity in the district, Massey is betting that Kentuckians will embrace his independence leanings.
“Voters in the 4th District appreciate an independent conservative voice working for them, and I look forward to continuing the fight for transparency, constitutional rights, secure borders, a truly America-first foreign policy, and fiscal responsibility,” Massey said in a statement Tuesday.
Massey dismissed Galine as “a globalist billionaire, a man of endless debt, foreign aid, and a rubber stamp for eternal war.”
Massey has been at the forefront of efforts to trigger a vote on legislation that would force the release of relevant files. Jeffrey Epstein. Kentuckians opposed President Trump. A massive tax and spending cut packageTrump has called it “beautiful” while claiming that it will increase the national debt and have a negative impact on the economy. Massey said the president has no authority. attack Iran’s nuclear facilities without parliamentary approval.
Mr. Galine described Massey as an obstructionist, perhaps foreshadowing the theme of the campaign.
“Thomas Massie has become one of the biggest obstacles to President Trump’s ‘America First’ policy,” Gallein said. “President Trump endorsed me because Kentuckians deserve legislators who support the president, not against him.”
Mr Gullane, 67, was a farmer and businessman who had a long and distinguished military career.
Massey has Endorsed by Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul; He joined him last month on a swing ride around the district. Massey said during one stop that Trump is “probably the best president we’ve ever had,” but that Trump is more than a rubber stamp.
“If I think he’s wrong about a policy, or if I think one of his cabinet ministers has misled him about a policy, and they want us to vote on something… if I think it’s not in accordance with the constitution, I will speak up,” he said.
In 2020, during President Trump’s first term, Massie tried to delay the policy. New coronavirus infection relief package. At the time, Mr. Trump denounced him as a “third-rate grandstander” who should be expelled from the Republican Party, but Mr. Massie sought reelection. President Trump will change course in 2022called Massey a “conservative warrior” and “first-rate defender of the Constitution.”
Several other candidates have announced their names to the race for the 4th Congressional District, which spans northern Kentucky. The eventual Republican nominee will be heavily favored in a district last represented by a Democrat two decades ago.
