Trump-endorsed candidate enters race to challenge Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky

SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s choice to challenge maverick Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky announced his candidacy Tuesday, pledging to steadfastly support the president’s agenda while describing the incumbent as an obstructionist.

Retired Navy SEAL officer Ed Gallrein entered the 4th District campaign after gaining Trump’s endorsement. He will have the president’s vaunted political operation on his side, and a super PAC launched by Trump aides already has run ads attacking Massie. But he will confront an entrenched, well-funded incumbent in Massie, who steamrolled past challengers, even when he incurred Trump’s wrath.

“I’ve dedicated my life to serving my country, and I’m ready to answer the call again,” Gallrein said in a release. “This district is Trump country. The president doesn’t need obstacles in Congress — he needs backup. I’ll defeat Thomas Massie, stand shoulder to shoulder with President Trump, and deliver the ‘America First’ results Kentuckians voted for.”

The GOP primary election contest next May will test Trump’s hold over Republican politics. Gallrein, who has never held elective office, was defeated in a state Senate primary last year.

The president’s dominance was on full display this month in Tennessee, where the Trump-endorsed candidate won a crowded GOP primary for an open congressional seat.

The libertarian-leaning Massie has won reelection by lopsided margins since entering Congress in 2012. He has beefed up fundraising in preparation for the toughest political fight of his career.

His reputation as a contrarian willing to buck GOP leaders goes back years but reached a tipping point with Trump this year, when he opposed the president on key budget and foreign policy issues. Massie is betting that Kentuckians will embrace his independent streak despite Trump’s popularity in the district.

“Fourth District voters appreciate having an independent, conservative voice who works for them and I look forward to continuing my fight for transparency, constitutional rights, secure borders, a true America-first foreign policy and fiscal responsibility,” Massie said in a statement Tuesday.

Massie dismissed Gallrein as “someone willing to be a rubber stamp for globalist billionaires, endless debt, foreign aid and forever wars.”

Massie is at the forefront of efforts to trigger a vote on legislation that would force the release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein. The Kentuckian opposed Trump’s massive tax breaks and spending cuts package, saying it will grow the national debt and hurt the economy, while Trump calls it “beautiful.” Massie said the president lacked authority to attack Iran’s nuclear sites without congressional approval.

Previewing a likely campaign theme, Gallrein described Massie as an obstructionist.

“Thomas Massie has become one of the biggest roadblocks to President Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda,” Gallrein said. “President Trump endorsed me because Kentuckians deserve a congressman who will stand with our president, not against him.”

Gallrein, 67, is a farmer and businessman who had a long, decorated military career.

Massie has the support of Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who joined him on a swing through the district last month. During one stop, Massie said Trump is “probably the best president we’ve had in my lifetime,” but indicated he’s not a rubber stamp.

“If I think he’s wrong on policy, or if I think one of his cabinet members has misled him on policy, and they want us to vote on something … I will speak up if I don’t think it’s following the Constitution,” he said.

In 2020, during Trump’s first term, Massie tried to stall a COVID-19 relief package. Trump berated him then as a “third rate Grandstander” who should be tossed from the GOP, but Massie cruised to reelection. Trump changed course in 2022, calling Massie a “Conservative Warrior” and a “first-rate Defender of the Constitution.”

Several other candidates have entered the race for the 4th District, which stretches across northern Kentucky. The eventual Republican nominee will be heavily favored in a district last represented by a Democrat two decades ago.