Rep. Thomas Massie, one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal critics, lost the primary to Trump-backed former Navy SEAL Ed Galine, in a major political victory for the Republican leader.
Massey had angered President Trump by publicly opposing military action against Iran, sponsoring legislation that led to the release of files related to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and resisting some of the president’s policies. His loss in the most expensive U.S. House primary in history underscored Trump’s continued influence over the Republican Party and the political risks facing Republicans who have fallen out with him.
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The results could also heighten concerns among Trump’s critics within the party that there is little room left to openly oppose the president.
Here are key takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon and Pennsylvania.
Trump strengthens influence over Kentucky Republican Party
By expressing support for Galine, a retired Navy SEAL, the president succeeded in ousting Massey, an eight-term critic of U.S. unconditional military aid to Israel.
He targeted Massey for breaking with him on important issues, including his opposition to the president’s signature tax bill on the national debt, his support and defense of the Epstein File Transparency Act, and his opposition to the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.
Trump also had a major impact on the state’s Senate race by endorsing Andy Barr and, weeks before the election, offering to serve as ambassador to encourage a third MAGA candidate, Nate Morris, to resign.
Record-breaking election spending in Kentucky
The race between Mr. Massey and Mr. Garlein was the most expensive Congressional primary in U.S. history, with advertising spending reaching more than $34 million.
More than $19 million was spent for Gallein’s benefit, nearly $9.4 million of which came from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other pro-Israel interest groups. These outside organizations targeted Massie because he had previously voted against U.S. aid to Israel.
Massey sought to highlight the outsized role of pro-Israel groups, including AIPAC, in the campaign before the vote.
“They’re going to send the Secretary of the Army to my district tomorrow. That’s why the president is losing sleep and tweeting about this. That’s why AIPAC put another $3 million into my campaign this weekend,” he told ABC News on Sunday.
Massey warned of absolute party loyalty in case of defeat
He delivered an unusually long concession speech criticizing his unquestioned loyalty to the president. Massey argued for constitutional principles over party loyalty, warning the crowd, “If the legislature always votes in favor of the president, then we have a king.”
He also mocked Galine, saying, “I should have left sooner, but I had to call my opponent and make concessions, and it took me a while to find Ed Galine in Tel Aviv.”
Georgia governor’s Senate race heads to high-stakes runoff
Georgia’s closely watched Republican gubernatorial race heads to a June 16 runoff after no candidate received a majority of votes Tuesday.
Lieutenant Governor Bert Jones, backed by Trump, will face Rick Jackson, a billionaire health care executive who has invested $83.5 million of his fortune into the race.
The fisticuffs contest ended with two top state officials, Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who drew national attention for their rejection of President Trump’s efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.
Mr. Raffensperger spent millions of dollars trying to win back Republican voters after publicly falling out with Mr. Trump over the 2020 election. Former Republican lieutenant governor Jeff Duncan, who has become a fierce critic of President Trump, also failed to win the Democratic nomination after switching parties last year.
The results underscore the continuing political risks for the Republican Party, which has publicly broken ranks with President Trump, who is still falsely claiming the 2020 election was stolen.
The winner of the gubernatorial runoff will face former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat who secured the party’s nomination as the party seeks its first gubernatorial victory in 24 years.
Georgia’s Republican Senate primary also heads to a runoff on June 16th.
Representative Mike Collins, a vocal advocate of immigration enforcement, and Derek Dooley, a political outsider and former college football coach backed by Gov. Brian Kemp, both advanced to the next round.
The winner will face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country.
Shapiro aims to run for re-election as Pennsylvania race takes shape
Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race has been decided after both major party candidates ran unopposed in Tuesday’s primary.
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has secured the party’s nomination for a second term and is expected to make opposition to President Trump’s policies a central part of his campaign. Mr. Shapiro, who is considered a 2028 presidential candidate, will face Republican State Treasurer Stacey Garrity, an ally of Mr. Trump.
Garrity is seeking to become Pennsylvania’s first Republican governor since 2010.
Pennsylvania Democrats also selected candidates in several key legislative races to regain the House majority.
Mr. Shapiro also demonstrated his political influence across the state, with his candidates winning all three Democratic primaries in key battleground districts.
Alabama race overshadowed by electoral map battle
The Alabama gubernatorial race has been officially decided, with Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville scheduled to face former Democratic Sen. Doug Jones in a rematch of the 2020 U.S. Senate race, which Tuberville won.
Mr. Tuberville decided not to seek re-election to the Senate and easily won the Republican nomination. Mr. Jones is attempting a political comeback in the conservative southern state.
The race to replace Tuberville in the U.S. Senate is headed to a runoff between both parties. Congressman Barry Moore, supported by President Trump, advanced to the Republican runoff on June 16 because no candidate won a majority in the crowded race. Democrats will also hold a runoff election after Dakarai Larriet and Everett Wess advance to the next round.
But much of the attention in Alabama has been focused on the turmoil surrounding the state’s congressional elections, following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing Republicans to redraw district lines.
Republican Gov. Kay Ivey last week postponed elections in four of the state’s seven U.S. House districts until Aug. 11 after Alabama decided to return to its old Republican-drawn boundaries. The move could prevent more than 100,000 votes already cast in those precincts from being counted Tuesday.
Civil rights groups criticized the change as weakening the voting power of black communities.
Despite the uncertainty, Alabama voters are still choosing candidates in unaffected districts, including Republican victories for Mike Rogers in the 3rd District and Robert Aderholt in the 4th District.
Oregon gubernatorial race set for rematch in 2022
A rematch in the 2022 gubernatorial race has been officially decided after Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan won her party’s primary.
Drazan won out of a field of 14 candidates and will once again face Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek, who easily defeated several challengers in her own primary.
Oregon hasn’t elected a Republican governor in more than 40 years, making Drazan’s path to victory difficult even as Republicans hope voter dissatisfaction with the economy could reshape the race.
Voters also overwhelmingly rejected a 6-cent increase in the state gas tax supported by Democrats. The bill struggled because many voters were already grappling with rising fuel prices related to the war against Iran.
Meanwhile, the race for Oregon’s most competitive U.S. House seat has also been finalized.
Democratic Rep. Janelle Bynum easily secured the nomination and will face Republican County Commissioner Patty Adair in the 5th Congressional District, a swing seat that Republicans are hoping to retake this year.
Idaho sets key races for November
Idaho voters set several key races across the state in Tuesday’s primary elections, including races for governor, Senate and House of Representatives.
Republican Gov. Brad Little has secured his party’s nomination and will face Democrat Terry Pickens in the November election.
In the U.S. Senate race, incumbent Republican Sen. Jim Risch won the primary and will face Democrat David Ross.
Voters also decided key congressional primaries. Kayleigh Peterson secured the Democratic nomination in Idaho’s 1st Congressional District, but results for several other House races were not immediately available.
