FRANKFORT, Ky. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has made a habit of antagonizing Washington’s most powerful leaders in his own party, but so far that hasn’t diminished his support in his staunchly conservative Kentucky district.
Four years ago, Massie drew the ire of then-President Donald Trump when the congressman single-handedly caused a delay in the passage of a massive COVID-19 relief package. Trump called the Kentuckian a “third-rate argument” for his stalling tactic. The confrontation would have been a political death knell for many Republican politicians, but for Massie it was a bump in the road as he headed for re-election that year.
This month, Massie joined a revolt against House Speaker Mike Johnson — an unlikely effort overwhelmingly rejected by his colleagues. However, Massie appears unconcerned about any consequences from his voters for trying to unseat the leader of the Republican Party – dubbed “MAGA Mike Johnson” by Trump.
“It’s a lot about intramural baseball, and ultimately, since he’s still the speaker, I don’t think a lot of people care,” Massie said in a phone interview Wednesday.
Massie is being challenged by fellow Republicans Eric Deters and Michael McGinnis in Kentucky’s primary election on Tuesday. Three days of early in-person voting began Thursday.
The MIT-educated dissident who entered Congress in late 2012 has been a magnet for controversy.
In 2021, his family held guns while posing in front of a Christmas tree. The photo attracted thousands of “likes” on social media, as well as criticism for being posted days after four Michigan teenagers died in a shooting. That year, Massie was also fined for refusing to wear a face covering on the House floor during the COVID-19 pandemic. He jokes that “there’s not enough airtime” to announce all the politically risky votes she cast. A group affiliated with a pro-Israel lobbying organization attacked Massie for votes considered anti-Israel.
And yet, the libertarian advocate has consistently won by overwhelming margins in his district, which stretches across northern Kentucky and includes a mix of rural and suburban voters.
“He is an intelligent and strategic activist, so potential opponents know that he will fight hard to keep his place. I learned this the hard way,” said Todd McMurtry, who lost to Massie in the 2020 GOP primary.
McMurtry attempted to capitalize on Massie’s social media crackdown in 2020, after Massie forced Congress to return to the Capitol and vote on the pandemic relief package in person, potentially exposing his colleagues to the virus and contradicting the wishes of health experts. public.
Massie was unapologetic, saying he tried to prevent what he considered an unconstitutional vote on a useless bill. He deflected Trump’s blows by joking that he was at least “second-rate” as a stander. But at the time, Massie feared that the consequences of his action would be politically fatal.
“I called my two most senior employees before I did this and said, ‘Are you okay with losing your jobs? Because this is almost certainly the end of me in Congress,’” Massie recalled this week. “And they told me, ‘We don’t want to work for you if you don’t do this.’”
Rather than back away from the attack, Massie showed his staying power, winning the 2020 GOP primary by a lopsided margin. Two years later, Massie returned to Trump’s good graces, winning the former president’s support en route to another re-election victory.
Reflecting on his on-and-off relationship with Trump, Massie said Wednesday that the former president is “beloved” by Republicans in his district. But he said his voters also “appreciate someone who will come here and vote the way he believes is best, even if he is sometimes at odds with Trump. So that’s my brand right now.
Massie risked incurring Trump’s wrath again by supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ failed bid for the White House. Trump did not support Massie’s primary race this year.
Deters, the congressman’s best-known opponent, demonstrated his unwavering support for Trump — the presumptive Republican presidential nominee — in trying to make inroads against Massie. He portrayed Massie as a “slob” with no accomplishments in Congress. Deters ran for governor last year, finishing fourth in the Republican primary.
McGinnis says he is running to “fix Congress, fix the budget process, cut unnecessary spending, fix the immigration system and ‘drain the swamp,’” emphasizing some of Trump’s themes.
No Democrats are running for the seat this year.
Massie said his district has benefited from his service on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. But he is best known as a deficit hawk, having even designed a personalized debt watch that he wears on his lapel to remind people of the country’s growing debt. Congressman blames rounds of COVID-19 stimulus spending for fueling high inflation squeezing pocketbooks.
“This is the main problem – the spending – and it will ultimately break us,” he said.
Massie is seen as a potential candidate for the Senate or governor someday. Asked about her political future, she said: “I wouldn’t rule out anything. But my plans now are to stay in this place.”
McMurtry said no one has yet been able to get the message across that the “defiant, oppositional stance on things hurts Kentuckians.” But he predicted that Trump will win back the presidency in November and that Massie’s track record in crossing Trump will catch up.
“In two years, I hope then-President Trump finds someone he likes to fill his seat,” McMurtry said. “It only takes Trump’s endorsement to win this seat. Mr. Massie’s support of Governor DeSantis was a strategic mistake.”
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