U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, Northern KY maverick Republican, wins primary

John Cheves
·2 min read
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U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, the maverick Republican from Lewis County who represents Northern Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, defeated two primary challengers on Tuesday, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Massie, 53, has no Democratic opponent in the Nov. 5 general election.

First elected to Congress in 2012, Massie campaigned this spring as “Kentucky’s most conservative congressman,” with endorsements from Kentucky’s junior U.S. Sen. Rand Paul as well as fellow Republican U.S. Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Lauren Bobert of Colorado and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

Massie has made a name for himself with contrarian stands, alternatively pleasing and angering former Republican President Donald Trump and often voting independently of House Republican leadership. Most recently, Massie voted against a GOP-sponsored bill designed to punish Democratic President Joe Biden for pausing approved weapon deliveries to Israel.

He consistently votes against foreign aid, including U.S. assistance to Israel. He said the recent GOP bill was an attempt for House Speaker Mike Johnson to save face after pushing through a massive foreign aid package that became ensnared in Biden’s evolving posture towards the war in Gaza.

Congressman Thomas Massie and his family on their 2021 Christmas card.
Congressman Thomas Massie and his family on their 2021 Christmas card.

Tuesday’s primary is “a referendum on thousands of independent votes I have cast in Washington, D.C., on behalf of Kentucky’s 4th District,” Massie said in a prepared statement Tuesday night.

“I’ve consistently upheld the Constitution by voting for and sponsoring legislation to support the right to keep and bear arms, the right to free speech, freedom of religion and the right to privacy,” Massie said. “I’ve also fought against endless foreign wars, foreign aid and inflationary policies, regardless of who is in the White House.”

Massie is on the list of possible candidates for the U.S. Senate seat of Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell should the former Senate Republican leader, who is 82, not run for re-election in 2026. If so, he might square off against one or more of his Republican House colleagues, including Andy Barr of Lexington and James Comer of Tompkinsville .

Massie’s primary opponents on Tuesday were former lawyer and media personality Eric Deters of Walton, the fourth-place loser of the 2023 GOP gubernatorial primary, whose law license was suspended in 2013 by the Kentucky Supreme Court, and Michael McGinnis of Fort Thomas.

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