'I'm not going away.' Massie celebrates victory, decries PACs that tried to beat him

CRESCENT SPRINGS, Kentucky – Rep. Thomas Massie didn't have trouble fending off a challenge from within his party.

He easily defeated former attorney Eric Deters and Fort Thomas Republican Michael McGinnis on Tuesday getting 76% of the vote with nearly all the votes tallied. The Associated Press called the race an hour after the polls closed.

Massie is unopposed in the fall. It's a district that includes all three Northern Kentucky counties and stretches from the outskirts of Louisville east to Ashland.

Massie declares victory over 'establishment Republicans'

Massie, fresh of his attempt to oust Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, stood in a corner of PeeWee's Place restaurant in the Northern Kentucky community of Crescent Springs, microphone in hand, and held up his voting card, about the size of a driver's license.

"It's always a question, can you go to Washington, D.C. and not sell out? Can you vote exactly the way your constituents want?" Massie said. "This is your card. This is your voting card. You let me keep it in my wallet and go to Washington, D.C. and vote for you."

Flanked by other Republicans who won their state legislative races, including T.J. Roberts, the new state representative who won his race Tuesday night in Boone County, they declared victory over "establishment Republicans" and political action committees from outside the area who poured money into their races.

Pro-Israel group had run ads against Massie

The United Democracy Project spent $300,000 in ads statewide that slammed Massie for perceived anti-Israel views. The United Democracy Project is an affiliate of pro-Israel lobbying group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, commonly known as AIPAC.

Massie has opposed U.S. foreign aid and voted against an aid package that included funds for Ukraine and Israel. Massie said Congress should prioritize U.S.-Mexico border security instead.

"They're worried that I'll run statewide so they ran these ads all over the state of Kentucky," Massie said. "How stupid is that? That's like campaign malpractice to run an ad two years before a campaign. Thank you for the name ID."

'We sent a message to Washington, D.C.'

Massie has garnered a reputation for challenging Republican leadership, even before the latest ouster attempt against the speaker of the House. He earned the moniker “Mr. No” for frequently being the lone House member voting "no" on bills.

Massie has represented Kentucky's 4th Congressional District since 2012, driving his Tesla from his off-the-grid house in Lewis County to Washington,

"We sent a message to Washington, D.C. Trust me they are watching in Washington D.C.," Massie said. He said his phone lit up from fellow members of Congress shortly after the election results were announced. "They know I’m not going away, because you will keep sending me there every single time."

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Did Thomas Massie win his Republican primary in Kentucky?