Tomorrow, voters will decide whether Rep. Thomas Massie becomes the latest casualty in President Donald Trump's effort to oust GOP lawmakers he views as opponents. Over the weekend, Trump helped derail Louisiana incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy's primary bid. GOP lawmakers in Indiana met the same fate after thwarting redistricting plans in Kentucky's neighbor to the north.
Now all eyes are on Massie, a liberty wing Republican who has bucked the administration on the Epstein files, overseas conflicts, and spending bills.
Massie told NBC why he believes the primary has seen more than $21 million in ad spending and a concerted effort by the administration to force out a fellow Republican in a friendly district.
"It's because they want everybody else to go along to get along, and if they let one guy come up here and vote his conscience and vote the way he campaigned and vote for his constituents instead of rubber-stamping the party menu that day, then there might be others who are encouraged to do that," Massie said. "That's why I'm fighting so hard. This is a fight worth winning. It's a national referendum."
Meanwhile, Massie's Trump-backed opponent, Ed Gallrein, has both the recent defeats of Trump foes and some fresh poll numbers to point to as evidence that he's in a winning position in the homestretch. He told conservative broadcaster Mark Levin that the Fourth District remains a stronghold for the president.
"We knew what we were voting for and we wanted it," Gallrein said. "(Massie) has the nerve to say I work for the people, I answer to them. Well, evidently not. They're giving him his pink slip."
Further driving home Gallrein's nexus with the Trump administration is an unusual campaign partner on Monday — Sec. of Defense Pete Hegseth, who is stumping alongside the retied Navy SEAL.
Massie says he is counting on younger voters to potentially beat back the challenge, noting what he described as a sharp generational divide in the race.