President Trump’s push to replace one of his most persistent Republican critics paid off Tuesday, with Ed Gallrein projected to win the Kentucky congressional seat held by Rep. Thomas Massie.
Decision Desk HQ called the 4th Congressional District race for Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL and farmer who ousted Massie in May’s GOP primary. Gallrein defeated Democrat Melissa Strange and Libertarian Jeremy Todd after campaigning with Trump’s endorsement and help on the stump.
The victory puts a Trump-backed Republican on track to succeed a lawmaker who repeatedly broke with the president on spending and military action.
Massie supported war powers resolutions aimed at limiting Trump’s military actions in Iran and helped lead the effort to force the Justice Department to release records related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He also opposed GOP-backed spending legislation.
Those clashes preceded a primary defeat in which Gallrein took 54.9% of the vote to Massie’s 45.1%.
By 6:20 p.m. EST Tuesday, Gallrein held a 59% to 30% lead over Strange, according to DDHQ. Only a small share of the vote had been reported.
Gallrein campaigned on advancing key pieces of Trump’s agenda, including completing the border wall and funding Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. His website also calls for ending what he describes as a “woke” agenda.
But when KET asked last month whether he would pledge blind loyalty to Trump, Gallrein drew a clear line.
“What I pledge allegiance to is the Constitution and the Lord.”
“If you look at the oath of the congressperson, and then also the officer oath that I took when I joined the military, as I said at 26 years old, there’s two things that I swear to: the Constitution and the Lord. Full stop. That’s where my loyalty is. And then, furthermore, to the people I serve, I answer to them. It’s as straightforward as that,” Gallrein said.
Gallrein told the outlet that a personal appeal from Trump helped persuade him to enter the race.
“For the same reason I joined the service then, I joined for this campaign now – to serve these folks. When President Trump talked to me back on 17 October in 2025 and told me I needed to serve my district, the party, and my nation again, then I went home, thought about it, prayed on it. He asked me to do that, and then four days later, I declared on 21 October to enter the race … to serve these folks. They deserve that,” Gallrein told KET last month.
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[ H/T Trending Politics ]
