Kentucky congressman and presidential nemesis Thomas Massie has filed to run again for Congress in 2028 after losing a bruising primary race to Donald Trump’s preferred candidate.
Massie, 55, lost his Republican primary for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District last week to Ed Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL officer aggressively backed by Trump.
On Monday, he announced he had filed the paperwork to run for election again in 2028.
“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,” Massie posted on X, along with a copy of the filing.
Massie said he hadn’t yet “made a final decision about which office to seek, if I run.”
Massie is one of a number of GOP members of Congress who have been targeted by Trump for removal from their seats.
Those whom Trump, 79, has identified as disloyal or who have not voted the way the president demands have found their seat in jeopardy from MAGA-backed challengers.
Massie ran afoul of the president when he sponsored a bill to release the Epstein files, opposed his budget bill, and criticized Trump’s war in Iran and other foreign policy.
Since losing the primary, Massie has continued to antagonize the president. On Sunday, he said he believes first lady Melania Trump knows there are more names to be released from the Epstein files, and that the child sex trafficker and friend of the president had many accomplices.
“Even Melania doesn’t believe that. The first lady knows that Jeffrey Epstein didn’t act alone,” he said on Meet the Press.
Massie’s announcement that he would run again in 2028 was met with celebration on X, with many users replying that he should run for president.
But others still loyal to Trump told the congressman he should retire.
Trump himself is still stewing over Massie and other Republicans he can’t control, even after running them out of office. On Monday morning, he posted a bizarre Memorial Day rant on Truth Social calling Massie “a massive sleazebag. [sic]”
He also singled out two other targets.
“Weak and ineffective people like failed Senator Thom Tillis (Soon out of office!), Bill Cassidy, who just suffered a massive Primary loss, really bad Congressman Thomas Massie, a major sleazebag who lost in a landslide to a great American Patriot (Endorsed by “TRUMP”) after showing tremendous disloyalty to his Party (and Country!)"
So far this primary season Trump’s picks have been victorious. However, Trump’s dismal poll performances threaten to drag the ticket down among voters who aren’t rusted onto the GOP.
