Ed Gallrein defeats US Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky GOP House primary

(AP via SCRIPPS NEWS GROUP) – Kentucky U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie lost his Republican House primary Tuesday after a concerted effort by President Donald Trump to oust him from Congress through challenger and ultimate winner Ed Gallrein.

The result showed the president’s persisting influence over GOP voters, adding to a growing number of Trump-backed primary challengers to defeat Republican lawmakers who angered him in his second term.

Massie, who has served in Congress since 2012, angered Trump by pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, criticizing the war in Iran and voting against his signature tax legislation last year.

The congressman tried to convince voters that they could be both for him and for Trump.

Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, ran on his military service and loyalty to the president. He accused Massie of forsaking Trump and the party.

Gallrein is expected to win the general election in the deeply red district.

Trump has tightened his grip on the Republican Party in his second term, successfully purging those who deviate from his agenda, but Massie is one of the last and most outspoken holdouts.

Massie challenged the president last year to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, which became a political drag for the White House. He also criticized the war in Iran and refused to vote for Trump’s signature tax legislation over concerns that it would increase the national debt.

In response Trump visited Kentucky to boost Gallrein in March. The president has had a string of success defeating dissenters in his party, pushing to oust Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana and several Indiana state senators who defied him on redistricting.

The winner of Tuesday’s primary is expected to take the general election in the deeply red 4th Congressional District, which stretches along the state’s northernmost border.