Trump’s Endorsement Machine Steamrolls Republican Dissent

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Trump’s Endorsement Machine Steamrolls Republican Dissent

Trump’s vanquishing of Thomas Massie is warning shot to Republicans considering break with president

By Ken Thomas, WSJ

May 20, 2026 5:30 am ET

In Kentucky’s primary, a challenger backed by President Trump defeated Rep. Thomas Massie, signaling Trump’s enduring grip on his base.

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WASHINGTON—President Trump delivered a clear message to Republicans in Tuesday’s primaries: Cross the president at your own peril.

His powerful primary endorsements have left behind a battered trail of fellow Republicans judged disloyal by Trump—maverick Indiana legislators, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and now Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, whom Trump labeled “an obstructionist and a fool.”

Trump’s triumph in Tuesday’s Kentucky congressional primary, which saw Republicans reject Massie in favor of a Trump-backed challenger, Ed Gallrein, served as the latest reminder of the president’s enduring grip on his Make America Great Again base. Massie frequently clashed with the president and broke with him over spending and the Iran war, and was instrumental in forcing the president to release the Justice Department’s files in the case of Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender.

It was also a shot across the bow to any Republicans considering putting distance between themselves and Trump ahead of a challenging midterm election that many predict will see Democrats take control of the House.

“Thomas Massie decided he was so mad at Donald Trump and [House Speaker] Mike Johnson that he would vote against them out of spite,” said Brad Todd, a Republican strategist. “Let this be a warning to anyone who has that impulse.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks into a microphone at a campaign event.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the Senate, spoke at a campaign event Tuesday. LM Otero/AP

Trump put the full weight of his political apparatus behind Gallrein, who received millions of dollars in advertising from super PACs linked to the president and pro-Israel advocacy. Hours before the polls closed, Trump flexed his hold on the party again, endorsing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Senate GOP primary next week against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. The president called Cornyn a “good man” but made clear that loyalty was paramount. “He was not supportive of me when times were tough,” Trump said of Cornyn.

The outcome in Kentucky presents a quandary for Republicans facing difficult re-election campaigns in November. Some of them would like to move to the political center to appeal to independent voters. House Republicans running in tossup districts in states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Virginia could suffer in November from being too closely aligned with Trump, who has been saddled with poor approval ratings and backlash over the conflict with Iran and rising gasoline prices.

“With costs rising for average Americans because of Trump’s policies like tariffs and the Iran war, Trump is going to be an anchor around the necks of Republicans fighting in tough races,” said Sarah Longwell, a Trump critic and GOP consultant who regularly conducts focus groups with voters.

But she noted the delicate dance for some Republicans on the ballot: “Candidates who owe Trump their primary win will have to return the favor.”

The retaliation tour carries risks for the president. Critics say he is forcing out more electable candidates for MAGA loyalists that could turn off swing voters. In Texas, Paxton—an ardent Trump supporter—will be plagued by a list of personal scandals including a messy divorce and abuse-of-office accusations by former top aides, which he has denied. Some Republicans warn that could open the door to a Democrat, James Talarico, winning statewide office in Texas for the first time since the 1990s and perhaps cost Republicans the Senate.

In Kentucky, Massie had maintained a loyal core of libertarian-minded Republicans in the northern stretches of the state where Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.), a frequent Trump critic on spending and foreign conflicts, has built a strong following.

Trump’s targeting of Massie put a spotlight on issues that have caused some voters to sour on the president, including the congressman’s work to force the president to release the Justice Department’s files related to Epstein. Massie was among a small group of Republicans to support war-powers resolutions that would have directed Trump to remove U.S. troops from hostilities against Iran.

Independent voters have largely soured on Trump and his sluggish job-approval ratings, which most surveys have found hovering around 40%, meaning that endangered Republicans will need to outperform Trump to win re-election in the fall.

Trump, undaunted by political headwinds, has made it clear that his coattails are the only way through a Republican primary.

After a group of Indiana state senators rejected Trump’s mid-decade redistricting effort last year, the president vowed to exact revenge and steamrolled five incumbent state senators, bankrolling a group of Trump-loyal challengers.

In Saturday’s Louisiana Republican primary, Sen. Bill Cassidy garnered about 25% and failed to reach a runoff election against Rep. Julia Letlow (R., La.), whom the president endorsed in May, and former Rep. John Fleming, Louisiana’s state treasurer and a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus.

Cassidy had emphasized his work alongside Trump to deliver billions in infrastructure funding and other priorities for the state. But the physician had clashed with Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the president’s Make America Healthy Again agenda, including scuttling Trump’s pick for surgeon general.

Trump has long provided momentum to Republicans in presidential elections, rousing infrequent voters who have been drawn to his personality and captivated by his antiestablishment message. His name won’t be on the ballot in November but his policies—and the midterm-election history of second-term presidents—will be.

Presidents serving in second terms typically lose House and Senate seats during their final midterm elections. And that, coupled with Trump’s unpopularity in certain suburban districts, means some Republicans are trying to showcase their independence.

One of those seats is in the Philadelphia suburbs, where Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), a co-chair of the bipartisan House Problem-Solvers Caucus, learned Tuesday he would face Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie, a top recruit by House Democrats. Fitzpatrick ran unopposed in the Republican primary and has displayed an independent streak in the House.

Trump’s endorsement power was on display in other primary races Tuesday, including in Georgia, where Trump endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the GOP primary to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp, who is term-limited. Jones advanced to a runoff election against billionaire health executive Rick Jackson.

Trump’s favored candidate in Kentucky’s GOP Senate primary, Rep. Andy Barr, advanced to the November election over Daniel Cameron, the state’s former attorney general.

Trump didn’t issue an endorsement in a crowded race for Georgia’s Republican Senate nomination, where Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins vied for MAGA support in the primary. Kemp endorsed Derek Dooley, a former head football coach at the University of Tennessee and the son of former University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley.

The winner will face Sen. Jon Ossoff (D., Ga.), who has built strength in the battleground state.

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