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Thomas Massie Loses His Seat in a Win for Trump — and AIPAC

The race was widely viewed as a referendum on the president. It was also a test of the pro-Israel lobby's power.

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie lost his Kentucky primary on Tuesday, handing a victory to the president in a race seen as a referendum on Donald Trump.

It also reaffirmed the grip of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in GOP politics.

AIPAC’s super political action committee and two other groups backed by pro-Israel donors poured more than $15.8 million into the race either opposing Massie or supporting his opponent, former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, according to Federal Election Commission reports released through Tuesday.

That blizzard of cash may not have been as important for Republican primary voters as Trump’s hatred of Massie. Still, it helped make the 4th Congressional District race the most expensive House primary in history, with overall spending reaching $32 million, topping the 2024 New York Democratic primary in which AIPAC’s super PAC aided Westchester County Executive George Latimer in ousting then-Rep. Jamaal Bowman.

Massie is a libertarian contrarian who reliably votes for the conservative position on measures in the House — but he has generated headaches for Trump on everything from the Justice Department’s files on Jeffrey Epstein to the NSA’s surveillance of Americans.

Congress Has One Way to Stop Trump From Going to War With Iran

He has also been a critic of U.S. funding for Israel and the war on Iran. His vote has helped make every attempt at blocking the conflict through a war powers resolution bipartisan, although so far all of them have fallen short.

A spokesperson for AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, described Massie as “the most anti-Israel Republican in the House.”

The Kentucky representative says he........

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