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Trump-Backed Challenger Defeats Kentucky Republican Incumbent in Primary

Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL endorsed by President Donald Trump, defeated incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky's 4th congressional district Republican primary Tuesday night. Massie was down nearly nine percentage points when the race was called within two hours of polls closing. Massie, who has held the seat since 2012, becomes the latest Republican lawmaker targeted by Trump to lose reelection. Trump has successfully campaigned against party members in state-level races in Indiana and secured the ouster of Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Massie drew Trump's ire through a pattern of independence, voting against GOP priorities and pushing to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Trump attacked the congressman repeatedly on social media, calling him "the worst Congressman in the long and storied history of the Republican Party." The president has added Texas Sen. John Cornyn to his target list, endorsing challenger Ken Paxton.