COVINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky's 4th Congressional District will have a new representative in the U.S. House after incumbent Thomas Massie fell to Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein in Tuesday's primary, according to The Associated Press.
"The winner of the race tonight is not so much Ed Gallrein... but it's the Republicans of Kentucky Congressional District 4 and their families who I will be a champion for in Washington," Gallrein said in his victory speech.
Gallrein, a farmer and former Navy SEAL, defeated Massie in a race focused on the congressman's criticisms of President Donald Trump's administration.
WATCH: Gallrein delivers his victory speech after defeating Massie
Nicknamed "Mr. No," Massie made his name as a contrarian, voting against Republican, Democratic and even popular bipartisan bills that he said deserve more scrutiny in his 14 years in office. That outlook became popular among constituents, but annoyed fellow legislators and party leaders, including Trump.
Trump heavily criticized Massie, who, in the president's second term, pushed for the release of the Epstein files, called the decision to bomb Iran "not constitutional" and served as one of only two Republican votes against the "One Big Beautiful Bill."
In fact, the president vowed to campaign "really hard" against him, backing Gallrein, a Shelby County resident who previously ran for Kentucky Senate. Trump rallied for Gallrein during his visit to the Tri-State in March, had allies like Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth campaign for him and even hosted a teleconference call pushing for him the night before the election.
After Massie lost, Trump thanked those who voted for Gallrein.
"On the Massie thing: He was a bad guy. He deserves to lose. Thank you very much, everybody," Trump said after the race.
Trump's push turned the race into the most expensive House primary in U.S. history, with Axios reporting total spending at around $32 million. That money and interest appeared to impact constituents, with a Quantus Insights poll published days before the election showing Gallrein actually moving ahead of Massie, 53% to 45% — an eight-point margin. Still, Massie said he was confident in a win, touting his "14-year track record of taking up for my constituents."
"We didn't lose this race because we didn't have enough money," Massie said in his concession speech.
Massie also said he still has hope for the future because he led in the polls for young voters.
WATCH: Massie gives his concession speech following his loss
In the end, Republicans backed Trump over their representative, electing Gallrein to represent them in the general election. He will face Democratic primary winner Melissa Strange in November.
