President Donald Trump finished his retribution tour with a bang.
Trump ousted GOP Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky and blocked Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s bid for Georgia governor on Tuesday, capping off a monthlong revenge campaign that saw the president force out most of the Indiana state lawmakers who opposed his redistricting efforts and unseat Louisiana GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy.
The show of dominance reaffirmed Trump’s iron grip on the Republican Party base even as his overall polling numbers continue to slip. The May primary season has proven the president is still a kingmaker and any GOP lawmaker looking to buck Trump is unlikely to live to tell the tale.
“Trump once again proved his power in the GOP,” said Trey Grayson, a Republican former Kentucky secretary of state who was neutral in Massie’s race.
“The most valuable asset or currency in Republican primaries, not just in Georgia, but around the country, is having the endorsement of Donald Trump,” said Josh McKoon, the chair of the Georgia Republican Party.
Massie provoked Trump’s ire through opposition to the president’s signature domestic spending bill, his intervention in Iran and his work across the aisle to force the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, prompting the president to front a primary challenger in former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, who is poised to win in November in the ruby-red 4th District. The president’s allies and several pro-Israel groups combined to spend $16 million to defeat the libertarian incumbent, contributing to what became the most expensive House primary on record.
Over in Georgia, Raffensperger was drowned out in his GOP primary for governor. The secretary of state, who rose to national prominence by defying Trump over the 2020 election results, failed to advance to a runoff after coming in third place behind Trump-endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who spent $28 million, and MAGA-loving billionaire Rick Jackson, who spent nearly $66 million.
“At the end of the day some people were still living back about six years ago, talking about 2020,” Raffensperger told reporters in Georgia after his loss.
Massie and Raffensperger’s failure to corral enough support from factions of the party that have at times broken away from Trump serves as a warning to Republicans who might be thinking about breaking with the president.
“Do not ever doubt President Trump and his political power,” White House communications director Stephen Cheung wrote on social media. “Fuck around, find out.”
The president notched several other wins on Tuesday night: After some maneuvering to clear the field, Trump’s chosen candidate to replace sometime-foe Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), sailed to victory in his primary race. A Trump-endorsed Republican won his primary to replace Barr in the House, too.
But Trump’s allies took particular satisfaction in unseating Massie. James Blair, the White House deputy chief of staff who is departing at the end of the month to helm the president’s political operation, reshared a social media post he sent last summer vowing to force Massie out of office. Former Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita addressed an image to Massie of Trump raising his middle finger.
TJ Litafik, a Kentucky GOP strategist, said Gallrein’s roughly 10-point margin of victory in what was expected to be a tight race reinforces how much sway Trump still has with Republican voters — even in a district that mirrored Massie’s libertarian lean.
“Massie does have an incredibly devoted following in that district,” Litafik said. “But it just goes to show that even with all of that, Trump still is the dominant force in the GOP.”
Trump’s determination to punish his biggest Republican detractor was emphasized by the eye-watering sums of money that came in behind Gallrein. And his intervention in the race united local forces and various factions of the GOP that had long wanted to oust Massie but previously lacked the firepower.
“Donald Trump is individually unique among politicians for his ability to swing Republican primaries,” said Tres Watson, a Kentucky-based GOP consultant who was neutral in the race. “Combine that with some built-in opponents already in the district and it spelled the end for Thomas Massie.”
A pair of pro-Israel super PACs spent more than $9 million targeting the isolationist, who has routinely rejected efforts to support the U.S. ally. Another super PAC stood up by Trump’s top political operatives spent nearly $7 million berating Massie over his votes against the president’s priorities.
“The message the Massie defeat sends is that being anti-Israel is bad politically in the Republican Party,” Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s ’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, said Tuesday night.
Massie signaled he intends to keep up the criticism. He excoriated pro-Israel groups in his concession speech, saying “for 14 years, those SOBs in Washington tried to buy my vote. They couldn’t buy it … so they decided to buy the seat.”
And while Trump may have reasserted his hold over the GOP base, his aggressive campaign against Massie could further fray the coalition that returned him to the White House by alienating isolationist and libertarian-leaning voters. Republicans, particularly younger ones, are starting to splinter over the wars in Gaza and Iran.
Dave Smith, a libertarian podcaster who supported Trump in 2024 but has since broken away from the president, encouraged Massie to maintain a place in the national political conversation.
“If Massie loses tonight, he should run for President,” Smith said.
Erin Doherty contributed reporting.
