Massie says he ‘may lose’ primary due to rival’s pro-Israel cash advantage

Published May 7, 2026 1:00am ET



Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) expressed concern about the margins in his campaign against his Trump-endorsed primary opponent, Ed Gallrein, on Wednesday.

“It’s a single-point lead for me; it’s not very fluid,” Massie told Tucker Carlson in an interview on Wednesday night. “It’s going to be close. The result is going to be based on who turns out.”

Massie, who is running for his eighth term in the lower chamber, said his adversaries are spending “$10 million” against his campaign, claiming that the negative ad spending is coming from billionaires and pro-Israel groups such as the Republican Jewish Coalition and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

PRO-ISRAEL BILLIONAIRES SPENT OVER $1.5 MILLION IN 38 DAYS TO OUST THOMAS MASSIE

Massie, who has consistently voted against foreign aid spending and military aid to Israel, has been a target of pro-Israel groups, particularly since President Donald Trump boosted Gallrein over Massie.

Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, saw a boon to his confidence going into the Kentucky 4th Congressional District primary this week when several of Trump’s endorsed primary candidates in Indiana won their elections. Trump, who has backed several GOP candidates challenging Republican incumbents, had his bets on primary challengers pay off this week with his victories across the Indiana state elections.

But Massie maintained during the Wednesday interview that the race is coming down to foreign-funded ad spending.

“The real reason that this race is a serious race, and I may lose, is because a foreign lobby has fully funded, to the extent that they’ve never done in any Republican race ever before, my opponent,” Massie said on The Tucker Carlson Show.

TRUMP’S INDIANA VICTORY SPELLS TROUBLE FOR MASSIE AND CASSIDY ELECTION SURVIVAL

The northern Kentucky race is a deep-red district, so whoever wins the May 19 primary is likely to win the seat in November. Since his first election to the district in 2012, Massie has won every primary challenge he has faced with over 70% of the vote.

In 2022, the last time Massie faced a Democratic general election opponent, he won the race with 65% of the vote compared to his opponent’s 31%. In 2024, Trump won the district with 66.9% of the vote, compared to former Vice President Kamala Harris’s 31.4% of the vote.