By:McKenna Horsley
Kentucky Lantern
HEBRON —In what’s become the most expensive U.S House primary in history, the two Republican candidates for the 4th Congressional District made their final stump speeches ahead of Tuesday’s voting, hoping to convince voters to pick sides between U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, the incumbent maverick and President Donald Trump’s hand-picked nominee, Ed Gallrein.
Challenger Gallrein got a heavy-hitting Trump proxy in the form of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said Kentucky had a choice to make Tuesday when polls open.
“You can send a warrior, reinforcements for the president in our shared fight against the radical left, or you can send an obstructionist,” Hegseth said in a ballroom near the Northern Kentucky airport. “In my mind, it’s an easy choice.”
Although it’s highly unusual for high-ranking military personnel to campaign in political races, Hegseth said he was stumping for Gallrein’s Congressional campaign in Kentucky in his “personal capacity as a private citizen.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s primary election, Massie gained Trump’s ire for opposing him on issues like the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and releasing the federal investigation files into sex offender Jeffery Epstein. With the president backing Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL from Shelby County, the race has turned into a heated primary where both candidates are trying to sway Republican voters in Northern Kentucky.
In a hotel conference room with at least 100 attendees, the audience largely stayed sitting while speakers gave remarks and offered some claps throughout. Hegseth argued that Massie has done “too much grandstanding” and opposed Trump when he “has enough obstruction from Democrats.”
“Too often Massie’s instinct is to throw elbows at fellow Republicans instead of the people who are destroying our country or want to destroy our country, and there’s one man standing in their way, and it’s President Trump,” the secretary said to applause in the room.
Gallrein introduced Hegseth and focused on his military history. He did not address his opponent in the election by name.
“Politicans up there who have never carried a rifle in combat make decisions about young Americans who would, and that’s not acceptable,” Gallrein said.
Massie makes his case
Meanwhile, Massie stuck to his native Appalachian region of the 4th District Monday. He started the day off in Greenup County with local state Sen. Robin Webb, who was a longtime Democrat until joining the Republican Party last year. Massie then traveled to Mason County and will end the night at a rally in his home county of Lewis.
“We’ll have BB Q, and I’ll be speaking about serving YOU in Congress,” Massie wrote on X.
At the Hegseth stop, one attendee, Dave Schack, of Campbell County, told the Kentucky Lantern afterwards that he plans to vote for Gallrein on Tuesday. Schack said he appreciated Gallrein’s naval experience and remarks about his upbringing.
“Basically, anybody that he is endorsed, that’s who I’m endorsing,” Schack said when asked how the president’s backing of Gallrein swayed him.
Meanwhile, another attendee, Jennifer Long, of Kenton County, said she remained undecided. She attended one of Massie’s weekend rallies, with allies including U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, of Colorado, to compare both candidates. Long said she doesn’t feel like Massie is “opposing Trump to just oppose Trump, as Hegseth said,” but rather “pushing back” to better legislation in Congress. Nevertheless, “I believe he has made it difficult for Trump.”
Long said she “absolutely” will vote on Tuesday, but “I don’t know what’s gonna happen,” adding that she’s going to continue to look into both candidates.
Ahead of Hegseth’s afternoon stop, Tres Watson, a former spokesperson for the Republican Party of Kentucky, said that the event shows that “they want this win” from Trump’s side, but he has “significant questions about the legality or appropriateness.
“I can’t remember a secretary of defense coming to a political event like this,” Watson said. “I’m fairly certain it’s a Hatch Act violation, although secretaries get a little bit of a wider berth on that particular issue, but it’s a fairly extraordinary step.”
When asked if voters could be turned off by the possibility of a violation, Watson added that “rank-and-file voters” won’t understand the logistics of the federal law but it could be a “potential legal issue.”
Record spending
Both Massie and Gallrein campaigns, as well as PAC for them, are well-funded and spending ahead of the primary. AdImpact Politics tracked that $32.6 million have been spent on ads in the primary, making it the most expensive House primary on record.
Politico reported Sunday that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other pro-Israel interest groups have spent $9 million against Massie, who often supports isolationist politics and opposes foreign aid.
Watson said he was unsure about how much the issue of Israel “is talked about on the ground” for voters in the primary, but a lot of conversation on that exists online. Watson added that he wished Massie “would come out and clearly state that he is not anti-Semitic,” but he “has an issue with U.S. policy in regards to Israel.”
It’s also a difficult issue for the Gallrein campaign to message on, Watson said, as it could “end up being just as distasteful to attempt to use the anti-Semitism of one side as a political cudgel.”
As for who is in the best shape to win heading into Tuesday, Watson said Massie, as he is the incumbent.
“I think the Gallrein campaign and the Trump operation have done a job making an argument on why Thomas Massie should not be elected,” Watson said. “However, you have to also make the case that your guy deserves to be elected in his stead, and I don’t know that they’ve really even attempted to litigate that case.”