...
By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
The countdown to the end of Republican Representative Thomas Massie's congressional career has begun after he was defeated by a challenger backed by President Donald Trump on Tuesday. But could this be the start of a 2028 presidential bid for Massie?
He was beaten by Ed Gallrein in the Republican primary for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District on Tuesday, with 45.1 percent of the vote to Gallrein's 54.9 percent. The defeat came after a bruising campaign and a loud feud with Trump, who called him the "worst congressman in the Republican Party" on Tuesday.
Despite his loss, Massie struck a defiant tone in his concession speech, saying: "We stirred up something. There is a yearning in this country for somebody who will vote for principles over party." His audience was equally undeterred, chanting "2028" and "president."
Read More on Politics
Massie highlights an emerging split in the Republican Party—he is one of the most conservative members of Congress, but has publicly clashed with Trump on numerous issues ranging from foreign policy to the Department of Justice's handling of the Epstein files.
Tensions in the Republican Party are likely to become more pronounced ahead of the next presidential election in 2028, as upcoming candidates seek to either position themselves as Trump's successor or distance themselves from the president.
And Massie could play a key role, even if not a presidential candidate himself. However, experts told Newsweek that Massie would face a steep climb to the White House.
...
Newsweek reached out to Massie by email outside of normal business hours.
Why Trump Wanted Massie Gone
Massie, who has served in Congress since 2012 and is widely seen as one of the more conservative Republicans in Congress, has repeatedly clashed with Trump.
Their first major fallout came in March 2020 after Massie voted against the Save Our Workers Bill, a $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package. At the time, Trump called him a "third rate Grandstander," urging the GOP to "throw Massie out" of their party in a social media post.
Their public relationship improved and, in 2024, Massie endorsed Trump's presidential campaign. But since Trump assumed office in January 2025, Massie broke away from the president on several issues, including regarding the war in Iran or the president's "One Big Beautiful Bill" package, which passed last year.
Massie also led an effort, alongside Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California, to force the Justice Department to release the files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender and disgraced financier—much to the dismay of Trump who had urged Republican lawmakers to "get BACK ON POINT."
As a result, Trump was openly urging voters to remove him, describing Massie as disloyal and backing a challenger from outside the political mainstream.
“Bad Congressman Tom Massie voted against Tax Cuts, the Border Wall, our Military and Law Enforcement… The Worst Republican Congressman in History. Kentucky, vote the bum out on Tuesday,” he wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.
Speaking about Massie's defeat, Trump told reporters: "He was a bad guy. He deserves to lose."
Can a Defeated Congressman Still Build a National Brand?
Despite his loss, Massie leaves Congress with a clear ideological identity and a national profile.
At the time of writing, he has over 1.7 million followers on X.
He has cultivated a following as a libertarian fiscal hawk, often casting himself as a consistent “no” vote on spending bills and an anti-interventionist voice in GOP foreign policy debates.
That outsider reputation helped him become a recognizable figure beyond his district—even as it alienated parts of the Republican base at home.
Nevertheless, the route to the White House could prove challenging for Massie. He carries roughly 1.7 percent odds of becoming the next Republican presidential nominee, according to betting platform Polymarket.
Richard Johnson, a senior lecturer in U.S. politics and policy at Queen Mary University of London in the U.K, told Newsweek: "I think Massie has no chance in a Republican primary, given his break with Trump."
"He might consider running, but I cannot see the current Republican base embracing him," he continued. "If he cannot win a Republican primary in a district where he has high name recognition and a generally favorable local reputation, I cannot see how he could win the delegates across the country to come close to securing the party nomination."
Speaking to Newsweek, Mark Shanahan, who teaches American politics at the University of Surrey in the U.K., said: "It's hard to reignite a political career when you've lost the support of your local voters - but it's not impossible."
Who Would Actually Back a Massie Run?
If Massie were to seek national office, it is possible he could garner support from an anti-establishment leaning coalition that includes libertarian-leaning conservatives, anti-war Republicans and fiscal hawks focused on government spending.
Massie’s emphasis on decentralization, opposition to federal overreach and limited government also aligns with parts of the crypto and tech-adjacent political world, which has increasingly flirted with anti-regulation politics and outsider politics.
Shanahan said Massie's support base would come from "independents, of whom there aren't that many, libertarians, some centrists and old-school Mainstreet Republicans—in essence, all the parts of the Republican movement that have been in retreat since 2016."
"He may gain support from those within MAGA opposed to endless foreign wars and uncomfortable with Trump's wild-ride second administration," he added. "But while many in MAGA voice their concern about the president's actions, when it comes to voting, they return en bloc to the Trumpist fold."
He may also attract those who supported his primary bid, though no major Republican figure has publicly called on him to run for president.
Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert—dubbed a "MAGA warrior" by Trump when he endorsed her reelection bid—backed Massie in the final days before Kentucky’s Republican primary and traveled to Kentucky to campaign alongside him at multiple stops.
Former Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose falling-out with Trump over the handling of the Epstein files has been loud and well documented, also publicly encouraged support for Massie.
Writing on X after Massie conceded the election, Greene said: "Tonight the future of the Republican Party was destroyed. The Real America First Movement will rise led by the younger generations, who hate the old guard with an unquenchable passion. Let us pray that we have a country left by the time these creatures are gone."
The Big Problem: Could He Ever Win a Republican Primary?
Trump has a huge command on the GOP, which could cause problems for a Massie campaign. Just this past weekend, another Trump critic, GOP Senator Bill Cassidy, lost to a Trump-backed challenger in Louisiana.
Cassidy had voted to convict Trump in February 2021 during his second impeachment trial. He failed to make the runoff, finishing behind Representative Julia Letlow, who capitalized on the former president’s endorsement.
And, on May 5, Trump-backed challengers won at least five of the seven Indiana Republican state Senate primaries in which the president targeted senators who opposed his mid-decade congressional redistricting plan.
Those who come out in support of Massie risk provoking Trump's ire. After Boebert praised Massie, Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday: "Is anyone interested in running against Weak Minded Lauren Boebert in Colorado’s Fourth Congressional District..."
"Boebert is campaigning for the Worst 'Republican' Congressman in the History of our Country, Thomas Massie, of the Great Commonwealth of Kentucky, and anybody who can be that dumb deserves a good Primary fight!"
Whether Trump will hold as much sway come the 2028 campaign as he evidently still does now remains to be seen, since the GOP will enter a post-President Trump era, with all the uncertainty that entails.
For now, it appears nothing is off the table for Massie. Responding to his supporters' chants, Massie said: "You've made a compelling argument. You spoke your piece, but I need a medical margarita right now and we'll talk about it later. Thank you and God bless."
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines