Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) conceded in the GOP primary for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District to Trump-endorsed former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein. Massie wasted little time taking shots at Gallrein in his speech. “I would have come out sooner but I had to call my opponent and concede,” Massie said. “It took a while to find Ed Gallrein in Tel Aviv,” he added. Watch below: Massie: I would have come out sooner but I had to call my opponent to concede and it took a while to find him in Tel Aviv pic.twitter.com/DmTkDfS17a — Acyn (@Acyn) May 20, 2026 Massie also teased a potential 2028 presidential run. A crowd of Massie supporters chanted, “2028!” “What happens in 2028? You want me to run for Congress again?” Massie asked the crowd. The crowd chanted, “President!” “You made a compelling argument. You spoke your peace. But I need a medical margarita right now. And we’ll talk about it later,” he said. Watch below: NOW: Thomas Massie's election party attendees demand he runs for president CROWD: "2028! 2028!" MASSIE: "What happens in 2028? You want me to run for Congress again?" CROWD: "No! President!" MASSIE: "We'll talk about it later." pic.twitter.com/EDXXMp4dbH — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 20, 2026 WHAS 11 has more: The primary was one of the most expensive in American history and was a test of Trump’s influence not only in Kentucky, but the Republican Party. “For 14 years those SOB’s in Washington tried to buy my vote. They couldn’t buy it. Why did the race get so expensive? Because they decided to buy deceit. And it got real expensive for them,” Massie explained. He accused his opposition of using “dirty tricks” but said his campaign stayed the course, running a clean campaign. “We weren’t really running against Ed Gallrein, we weren’t running against Donald Trump. We were running for what we believe in.” Massie has been at odds with Trump with his outspoken nature. He pressed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, voted against the “Big, Beautiful Bill” and voted against the war in Iran. President Trump reacted to Massie’s defeat saying, “He was a bad guy. He deserves to lose.” In the end, Massie told his supporters the country needs to come together and have a unified party. Massie’s congressional term will end in January 2027. It’s unclear if he will seek another political office. “What happened tonight was God’s will,” Massie said. “And we have to figure out what was the purpose of having the biggest fight ever,” Massie continued. “What was God’s purpose? What is He showing us tonight?” he questioned. Watch below: Thomas Massie says his loss was part of “God’s will” and that everything happens for a reason and a greater purpose. Massie says the battle was lost, but the war against the Epstein class will continue. “What was God’s purpose? What is He showing us tonight?” “It couldn’t… pic.twitter.com/Io5NaC2t8A — Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) May 20, 2026 The Hill shared further: Federal Election Commission (FEC) data — which includes advertising along with other campaign expenses — showed the candidates and outside groups working to influence the race spent roughly $35 million combined. Massie’s campaign outspent Gallrein’s, $5.8 million to $2.6 million, according to FEC data. But super PACs heavily favored the GOP challenger, spending more than $16.4 million to boost Gallrein compared to roughly $10.1 million backing the incumbent. The contentious faceoff featured vicious and personal television ads, including some that used AI-generated “deepfakes” to undermine candidates’ conservative credentials or loyalty to Trump. One pro-Gallrein super PAC released an ad falsely accusing Massie of being “in a throuple” with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), while a pro-Massie group aired an AI-generated ad depicting Gallrein abandoning Trump on a battlefield. Massie, a libertarian Republican, has long had an independent streak but found himself increasingly at odds with Trump this past year on issues of outsized significance to the president. He helped lead the push for the administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, frequently criticized the party’s foreign policy approach and voted against Trump’s signature tax and spending legislation, citing concerns about increased deficit spending.