Free Republic

The pro-Israel lobby that’s pumped millions into Democratic primaries this year is facing the next test of its political power on the right in ruby-red Kentucky. [AIPAC] and other pro-Israel interest groups have uncorked over $9 million in a bid to unseat Republican Rep. Thomas Massie on Tuesday in a competitive primary that has shattered spending records. Prominent pro-Israel GOP donors have funneled millions more into a super PAC stood up by President Donald Trump’s political operation that has spent nearly $7 million on the race. Overall ad spending has topped $32 million, making it the most expensive House primary...

President Trump threatened to pull his endorsement of Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) on Saturday, as she campaigned with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) ahead of a tough reelection fight. Trump railed against Boebert in a pair of back-to-back posts on Truth Social, calling her “weak-minded” and asking if there was “anyone interested” in challenging her in the GOP primary for Colorado’s 4th congressional district. “Boebert is campaigning for the Worst ‘Republican’ Congressman in the History of our Country, Thomas Massie, of the Great Commonwealth of Kentucky, and anybody who can be that dumb deserves a good Primary fight!” Trump wrote in...

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump threatened a primary challenge on ​Saturday for hardline conservative Representative Lauren Boebert, until now ‌a staunch Trump ally, after she campaigned for maverick Representative Thomas Massie in his Kentucky district. "Boebert is campaigning for the Worst 'Republican' Congressman ​in the History of our Country, Thomas Massie, of ​the Great Commonwealth of Kentucky, and anybody who can ⁠be that dumb deserves a good Primary fight!" Trump ​wrote on Truth Social. Boebert, a Colorado congresswoman, responded with a ​post on X: "Yes, I saw the President’s post. No, I’m not mad or offended....

Republican Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert endorsed Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie Friday despite President Donald Trump’s efforts to primary challenge him. Trump launched an aggressive effort to unseat Massie by endorsing his opponent, Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, and has harshly criticized Massie over his criticisms of the Iran war, his opposition of the big, beautiful bill and his push to release the files surrounding Jeffrey Epstein. Four days before Massie’s primary, Boebert said on X that Massie “loves America and is fighting to save it,” while also praising Trump in the same statement. “Below is my friend Thomas Massie. He...

In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America. Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture. You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here. An op-ed in the New York Times on Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) this week, He’s One of a Dying Breed in Congress. America Needs Him Now More Than Ever, could not have been any more sycophantic.The Times hasn't endorsed a Republican presidential candidate since Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. That means they loved the likes...

Massie leads among likely voters by only 50.6 to 49.4 percent; well within the margin of error.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A candidate for a Louisville-based Kentucky State House seat recently admitted to taking mail out of the mailbox of a potential voter. Max Morley is running to replace Daniel Grossberg as Kentucky State Representative in the 30th House District, which includes parts of Jefferson County. In a home security camera video reviewed by WHAS11, Morley is seen approaching a porch and ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door. "While campaigning, I exhibited a lack of judgment. This isn’t acceptable, and it’s something I’m deeply sorry for. I apologize to the homeowner. I want one thing to...

Republicans’ support for President Donald Trump's war on Iran fractured on Wednesday. Senate Democrats have tried to splinter off Republicans from their near-unified backing of Operation Epic Fury for months with a campaign of attrition, putting war powers resolution after war powers resolution on the floor ever since fighting began. And after two months of trying, they finally got some in the GOP to flip on Trump with Sen. Jeff Merkley's, D-Ore., latest attempt. Still, it wasn’t enough to terminate ongoing operations in the Middle East. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has consistently...

The adult son of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) launched a vile antisemitic and homophobic tirade at Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) at a DC bar Tuesday night, saying at one point that the Iran war was “about the gays and the Jews, and I hate them both, and I don’t care if they die.” In a phone conversation recounting the evening, Lawler told The Post that he was sitting at a popular DC bar with a friend and a reporter for NOTUS, which first revealed the incident involving William Paul. “So Rand Paul’s f—ing son is sitting next to us at...

[snip] Cynthia West, a former congressional aide now running for school board in Florida, has alleged that Massie secured her a job in Congress, in the office of Republican Representative Victoria Spartz of Indiana, after the pair struck up a romantic relationship. However, West said Massie soon began engaging in behavior she "wasn't comfortable" with, after which she ended the relationship. West said Massie offered her $5,000 after she said she would file a wrongful termination complaint against Spartz, who she said had fostered a toxic work environment. West said she declined this as well as a $60,000 settlement payment...

A bill aimed at cracking down on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its practice of forced organ harvesting passed with overwhelming support on Wednesday – though one House lawmaker voted against it. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was the lone Republican to oppose the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act, which passed 406-1. "It's just another example of us trying to stick our nose in another country's business and write their laws," Massie told Fox News Digital after the vote. "And at the end of the day, they're gonna do what they're gonna do, and it's just sort of a virtue...

The House of Representatives voted to kill a resolution to censure progressive Rep. Rashida Tlaib, R-Mich., on Wednesday night. Nearly two dozen Republicans voted along with all House Democrats to table the resolution in a final vote of 222 to 186 in favor of killing the motion without debate. Democrats briefly broke out into applause when the resolution failed.

Massie is accused by an ex-girlfriend of making a hush money offer after she (the girlfriend) was dismissed from a job arranged by an associate of Massie, when the associate and Massie had a falling out.

Gallrein (Trump-backed challenger 48%, Massie (small "l" libertarian incumbent) 43%

US Senator Rand Paul has said he introduced a constitutional amendment aimed at ending automatic birthright citizenship for children born in the US to undocumented immigrants. "I introduced a constitutional amendment to end birthright citizenship," Paul said on X on Monday. "The 14th Amendment was never meant to reward illegal entry." The Kentucky lawmaker drew a distinction between legal and illegal immigration, arguing that lawful immigration historically strengthened the US, while illegal immigration is being used to obtain citizenship benefits. "Legal immigration built this country. Illegal immigration is being used to game the system. Only children of legal residents should...

"Massie votes against Trump" Trump promised to end the forever wars. Massie votes against them every single time. Trump promised to drain the swamp. Massie votes against the swamp’s spending bills every single time. Trump promised to abolish FISA. Massie voted AGAINST FISA. Trump promised to release the Epstein files. Massie fought for that too. Local news in Kentucky just fact-checked this. Massie’s ads saying he votes for the America First agenda? Rated TRUE. Gallrein’s ads saying Massie votes with Democrats? They Rated FALSE.

-Napa Valley man Thomas O’Donnell found guilty of murder-for-hire in Kentucky court. -Prosecutors say former California Highway Patrol captain Julie Harding hired O’Donnell to kill her estranged husband, Michael Harding, luring him to a secluded Kentucky home for an HVAC repair. -Harding died by suicide months after the killing; O’Donnell, 64, faces 20 years to life in prison. A Napa Valley man hired by a former California Highway Patrol captain to kill her husband has been found guilty as text messages revealed details of the murder-for-hire plot.

Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced legislation today to repeal Donald Trump’s global tariffs, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. The binding measure will be treated as a privileged resolution that must receive a vote on the Senate floor. The measure would terminate the emergency that Trump declared in order to slap tariffs of up to 40% on products Americans buy from other countries. In the wake of Trump’s tariff declaration, costs have...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In a late Friday Truth Social post, President Donald Trump finally delivered the endorsement that each of the top GOP candidates in the race to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell badly coveted. And it went to U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, whom Trump called a "proven political winner" who is "always a vote we can count on because he knows what it takes to get things done." Some Kentucky political insiders say this could seal the Republican Senate primary in Andy Barr’s favor. "It's over," former Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, a Republican and former U.S. Senate candidate...

Breaking: Ed Gallrein (Thomas Massie’s opponent) has received government benefits for claiming to be 100% physically disabled, while also claiming to do demanding full-time farm work on his family’s operation. Gallrein received two PPP loans during COVID, including one used to pay himself for farm work. His campaign frequently shares photos and stories highlighting his supposed active involvement in farm labor. On the Bill Cunningham Show, he cited “farm work to do” as the reason for skipping a debate with Massie. Real full-time farm work is physically demanding and inconsistent with what most people would expect from someone receiving full...