On Tuesday, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky conceded to challenger Ed Gallrein, ending the most expensive congressional primary in American history. Days before Massie's defeat, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana (who, among other MAGA transgressions, voted to convict Trump on impeachment charges) faced the same fate. That means Trump and his allies have succeeded in defeating two Republicans critical of their agenda in one week. From my colleague Stephanie Mencimer:
“Combined with Cassidy’s loss over the weekend in the Louisiana Senate primary and the five Indiana state senators losing their primaries two weeks ago,” says Trey Grayson, a former secretary of state and 2010 Republican Senate candidate in Kentucky, “a lot of Republicans are going to say, ‘I think I’ll keep to myself and stay in line.’ That would be a natural reaction.”
There are many factors one might point to in Massie’s loss: He lost because he faced down AIPAC, or because he stood against Trump, or because he pushed too hard for the release of the Epstein files, or because his constituents, after seven terms, just didn't like him very much. Stephanie has been covering this race closely for months—and gets into many of these themes. So, if you'd like to get to the bottom of Massie’s lore, I recommend digging in here.
—Sophie Hurwitz
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