A longtime former Navy SEAL and fifth-generation farmer, backed by President Donald Trump, revealed his intentions to try and unseat Kentucky incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican, in next year’s GOP primary. The race is for the state’s 4th Congressional District.
As background, while Rep. Massie is beloved by many libertarian-minded Republicans, he has made himself increasingly noxious to MAGA by being a gadfly who constantly does his best to disrupt Trump’s agenda and focus on publicity-grabbing headlines rather than any real achievements of note.
So, now former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein is aiming to unseat him. “I’ve dedicated my life to serving my country, and I’m ready to answer the call again,” Ed Gallrein said in a statement shared with Fox News. Gallrein then put Massie, a frequent critic of the president, on blast.
Doing so, the former SEAL said, “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.”
Gallrein’s announcement comes four days after President Trump heaped praise on the Navy SEAL on social media, encouraging him to run against Massie. The president slammed Massie as a “Third Rate Congressman,” a “Weak and Pathetic RINO,” and a “totally ineffective LOSER who has failed us so badly.”
President Trump offered high remarks for Gallrein, showcasing his respect for him, calling him a “Brave Combat Veteran” and a “very successful Businessman,” who, if elected to represent the 4th Congressional District, would “fight tirelessly to Keep our now very Secure Border, SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.” The post included a photo of the president with Gallrein posing with MAGA hats in the Oval Office.
Gallrein’s service record includes three decades in uniform, having worked his way up to the rank of captain. He also served several times as a member of SEAL Team Six, in which he was deployed to Panama, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He earned four bronze Stars and two Presidential Unit Citations. Impressive isn’t quite enough to cover such a distinguished record.
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The campaign release shines a spotlight on Gallrein’s deep connections to the state of Kentucky. He was born and raised there, with a family that has farmed the land for over a century. The Gallreins also established the largest dairy farm in Kentucky, along with Gallrein Grain Farms, which is also one of the state’s largest grain operations.
In the blink of an eye, following Trump’s endorsement of Gallrein on social media, Massie fired off a few shots of his own, referring to his challenger as a “failed candidate and establishment hack.” He then used Gallrein’s failed attempt to run for Senate in 2024 as cannon fodder against him.
“After having been rejected by every elected official in the 4th District, Trump’s consultants clearly pushed the panic button with their choice of failed candidate and establishment hack Ed Gallrein,” Massie said in comments made to Politico. “Ed’s been begging them to pick him for over three months now.”
Massie found himself removed from the president’s good graces earlier in the year when he voiced opposition to the “one, big beautiful bill,” which passed the Republican-controlled Congress in the first part of summer, almost exclusively along party lines. The bill is President Trump’s biggest legislative achievement since the start of his second term.
The Kentucky congressman also earned Trump’s ire when, along with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, he started to push for a House floor vote concerning the release of the ever-controversial Epstein files. The administration, working in partnership with GOP leadership, are working to counter that movement, though Massie is growing closer to reaching the 218 signatures required to force the vote. Watch Massie attack Trump over the files matter here:
Earlier in the summer, two of President Trump’s top political advisers — 2024 co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita and pollster Tony Fabrizio, launched a super PAC with the sole mission of beating Massie. A staggering $2 million has already been spent by the PAC for television ads attacking Massie.
That doesn’t mean Massie has simply turned the other cheek. He’s been flipping the attacks from the president and his allies to provide a boost in his own fundraising, bringing in $750,000 over the course of the last three months, marking the best fundraising quarter Massie has had during his time as a congressman.
Featured image credit: Ed Gallrein for Congress website