By Jeff Zeleny, CNN
Hebron, Kentucky (CNN) — The race against Rep. Thomas Massie has overshadowed the campaign for Ed Gallrein, the farmer and former Navy SEAL recruited to run against him.
Yet Massie and Gallrein are the actual choices facing Republican voters Tuesday in a Kentucky primary, despite President Donald Trump looming large over a race that has become the latest stop on his revenge tour.
When the ballots are counted Tuesday night in what could become the most expensive US House primary in history, the outcome between Massie and Gallrein may provide a window into whether a deluge of attack ads and a presidential megaphone can outweigh a lifetime of relationships Massie has built across his corner of northern Kentucky.
No Republican has incensed the president more than Massie, who led the charge to release the Epstein files, voted against Trump’s landmark One Big Beautiful Bill Act and has fiercely opposed the Iran war.
Gallrein has pledged full loyalty to the Trump agenda, saying on Monday: “There has never been a more important time to stand behind our president.”
Massie, a rare contrarian in a compliant era for Republicans, acknowledges that he’s in a fight for his political life, but told supporters at an election eve rally the attacks would backfire, declaring: “They’re tried to turn me into a villain. The more they try to punish me, the more powerful I get.”
The list of Republicans falling to Trump’s wrath is growing, with Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana on Saturday the latest to join the ranks of those who stood up to Trump and ultimately lost power. Whether Massie will join that group will be decided by the GOP voters of Kentucky’s 4th District.
“It’s Trump versus Massie,” said Jonathan Ruggles, vice chairman of the Lewis County Republican Party. “The ones that will not vote for Massie are voting for Trump indirectly. They’re not voting for Gallrein outright.”
Who is Ed Gallrein?
For months, Gallrein has played something of a bit part in a race that could ultimately send him to Congress.
He’s not just endorsed by Trump but was handpicked by the White House to join the race to knock out Massie. Trump has described Gallrein as “strong as hell,” a character straight out of central casting.
“He’s a true American hero,” Trump said during a visit to Kentucky earlier this spring where he stood alongside Gallrein. “He’s a great patriot and he’s doing it because he saw what this guy was doing to our country.”
Yet Trump devoted far more of his time tearing into Massie, telling the crowd: “He’s got to be voted out of office as soon as possible.”
Gallrein, 68, has never served in public office. He fell short in a Republican primary for a Kentucky state senate seat in 2024. He’s not a natural speaker or fiery orator.
But when Trump’s allies were looking for a candidate to challenge Massie, Gallrein stood out because of his long service in the military and his standing in the community as a fifth-generation farmer in Shelby County, east of Louisville.
“If we do not take advantage of this narrow window of advantage we have,” Gallrein said, “history will punish us.”
Gallrein declined to debate Massie in several forums, including a marquee event on statewide Kentucky Educational Television. At some local Republican events, Massie sat by an empty chair, always noting his opponent’s absence.
When voters asked Gallrein about his unwillingness to debate Massie, he pushed back.
“I’m debating him every day,” Gallrein told voters in the closing days of the race. “I’m talking right to the American people, just