Rep. Thomas Massie said his political career won't end with his bruising primary defeat and filed to run for the same House seat.
Concretely, Massie filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for Kentucky's 4th Congressional District in 2028 days after losing the GOP nomination for the seat he has held since 2012. The FEC candidate profile lists Massie as a Republican candidate for the House in Kentucky's 4th District.
Massie confirmed the development in a social media post, saying, however, that it does not necessarily mean he has made a final decision about his next race. "I filed with FEC for the 2028 House race," he wrote. "This allows me to raise funds to continue my political operations supporting my position as a current office holder and as a potential candidate for federal office. I haven't made a final decision about which office to seek, if I run."
Massie last week lost the Republican primary to Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL and farmer backed by President Donald Trump. Massie was defeated by more than 10,000 votes, with the seat being decided in November between Gallrein and Democrat Melissa Strange.
Massie's loss was one of the clearest examples this cycle of Trump's continued power inside Republican primaries. Trump personally targeted Massie after the congressman broke with him on several issues, including efforts to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein and the war in Iran.
In a Truth Social post days before the Kentucky primary, Trump called Massie "very disloyal," "a major Sleazebag" and a "LOSER," urging Kentucky voters to remove him from politics. He also mocked him as "Rand Paul Jr." because of what Trump called his "terrible voting habits."
Massie had long been one of the few House Republicans willing to challenge Trump from the right. However, the first major rupture came in March 2020, when he tried to force a recorded vote on a massive COVID-19 relief package as Congress rushed to pass emergency aid. Trump responded by calling Massie a "third rate Grandstander" and urged Republicans to "throw Massie out" of the party.
Trump targeted Massie after the Kentucky congressman defied him on major legislation, the Iran war, and the push to release government files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Massie joined Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna in an effort to force the Justice Department to release Epstein-related records, and has also joined Democrats in other votes on issues like the war in Iran.
