The Latest: Gallrein defeats Massie in Kentucky, furthering Trump’s hold on GOP
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2:19 PM on Tuesday, May 19
By The Associated Press
There are primary elections Tuesday in Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, Idaho and Pennsylvania. These contests will be a further test of President Donald Trump 's grip on Republican voters.
In Kentucky, Ed Gallrein won Republican nomination for U.S. House in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, beating incumbent Thomas Massie. Trump handpicked Gallrein after Massie broke with him over issues including the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. .
In Georgia, Republicans are choosing a challenger to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Trump has not endorsed a candidate, which could lead to a runoff on June 16. There’s also a bruising Republican primary for governor. Most polls are closed.
In Alabama, Republican voters will choose a U.S. Senate candidate to replace Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor. Polls have closed.
In Pennsylvania, Democratic voters will pick their nominees to flip four Republican-held seats seen as critical for the party to retake the U.S. House. The races will be a test of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s influence. Polls have closed.
In Oregon, Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek will face nearly two dozen challengers. Voters will also decide whether to raise gas taxes to pay for improvements to the state’s roads and bridges. Voting concludes at 11 p.m. ET.
In Idaho, voters are picking their party's nominees for governor and U.S. Senate. Voting concludes at 11 p.m. ET.
The Latest:
The president has been on a Republican primary winning streak. In a matter of weeks, his preferred candidates nearly swept Indiana state Senate races, knocked off Louisiana U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy and ousted Kentucky U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie.
But the Georgia Republican runoff for governor will be something different.
Sure, Trump has his loyalist in Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who was one of the president’s fake electors in the 2020 scheme to overturn the presidential election. He was a state lawmaker then.
But Jones will match up against a billionaire, Rick Jackson, who has made clear he’ll spend as much as it takes. He’s already plowed $83 million of his fortune into the contest.
That’s no guarantee Jackson can buck recent trends. But it does mean that Jones and Trump won’t be able to control the narrative.
The two-term congressman is the owner of a family trucking business. He represents a district east of Atlanta. He has made immigration enforcement a focus of his candidacy.
Georgia Republicans are looking for a challenger to Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff. Collins and Buddy Carter are playing up their conservative records on Capitol Hill, while former college football coach Derek Dooley pitches himself as a political outsider.
Jeanine Thomas, a Massie supporter who was at the congressman’s watch party, said she appreciated his integrity.
“He and Trump had the same campaign promises, and he stuck with them,” Thomas said. “He was courageous enough to not toe the line when it was going against what he had promised his constituents that he would do, and unfortunately he was punished for it.”
Meanwhile, Kim Dees was attending Gallrein’s event. She said she was “ecstatic” that Gallrein won the primary.
“He’s very authentic. He’s not a politician. So that’s kind of follows what the Founding Fathers had,” she said. Dees said Gallrein is “a man of honor” who was called to serve and stepped up.
Dees said there should be term limits for politicians, noting that if Massie had won it would have been his eighth term.
The Bucks County commissioner will face Fitzpatrick, a perennial target of Democrats.
Harvie was backed by Shapiro and the House Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
He beat first-time candidate Lucia Simonelli.
Fitzpatrick is one of just three Republicans who won their 2024 House race in a district also won by Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
The Democrat considered a potential White House contender in 2028 spent a considerable amount of his primary night speech attacking the president.
The Republican Congress is weak and only serves the will of Trump, Shapiro said. That includes giving Trump a free pass on wrongdoing and corruption, Shapiro said.
“The only way we can expect to change this is to win in November and bring some accountability back to our nation’s capital,” Shapiro said.
Jones was the last Democrat to win a statewide election in Alabama and is seeking a political comeback with a bid for governor.
He won a special election to the U.S. Senate in 2017, buoying the hopes of Democrats in the Deep South state. However, he was defeated three years later by Tommy Tuberville to reclaim the seat for Republicans.
Tuberville won the Republican nomination for governor, setting up a rematch between the two political rivals.
Before running for office, Jones, a lawyer and former U.S. attorney, was best known for prosecuting two Ku Klux Klansmen responsible for Birmingham’s infamous 1963 church bombing.
A judge ordered two precincts at Ison Springs Elementary School in suburban Atlanta to stay open until 11:02 p.m. because the school was placed on lockdown just before noon and remained closed until 4 p.m. over an incident that was unrelated to the election, the Secretary of State’s office said.
County officials said they decided to hold election results until the closure of all polling places after reviewing state law and State Election Board rules and consulting with attorneys. The secretary of state’s office had earlier said the rest of the county’s election results would not be delayed.
Most polls in Georgia closed at 7 p.m. ET.
Gallrein’s victory over Massie in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District Republican primary was powered by his performance in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties in northern Kentucky across the river from Cincinnati, Ohio, and in Oldham County in the Louisville suburbs.
At the time the AP called the race, Gallrein had a lead in all four counties, which collectively make up the bulk of the district vote. Massie was ahead in his home base of Lewis County, but his sizable lead there was still significantly behind the lead he had there in his last contested primary in 2022.
“He was a bad guy. He deserves to lose,” Trump told reporters following Massie’s defeat, another sign of Trump’s enduring grip on the Republican base.
Trump allies quickly celebrated the victory online. Chris LaCivita, Trump’s 2024 co-campaign manager, posted a photo of Trump raising his middle finger and tagged Massie in the post.
“Do not ever doubt President Trump and his political power,” Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote on social media.
The Pennsylvania governor urged the crowd at his primary election rally to help the party’s candidates win control of the state Legislature for the first time in more than three decades.
Josh Shapiro, who is putting his clout on the line in congressional and legislative races, said he will advance a stronger agenda with Democratic control in Harrisburg.
“Give me a Democratic majority in the Senate and we will fully fund mass transit, we will build more housing, and we will codify abortion rights into state law,” Shapiro said.
The former college football coach entered politics with his election to the U.S. Senate in 2020. Tuberville opted not to seek a second term and instead launched a bid for governor.
During his time in the Senate, Tuberville was closely aligned with Trump, who endorsed Tuberville in 2020 and has also backed his bid for governor. “Tommy Tuberville has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Governor of the Great State of Alabama – COACH TUBERVILLE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump wrote on social media.
During the primary, opponent Ken McFeeters accused Tuberville of not meeting the legal requirement to have lived in the state for seven years. Tuberville maintains he meets the residency requirement, and the Alabama Republican Party dismissed McFeeters’ challenge.
Jones emphasized his previous political victories in his speech after advancing to the Georgia governor runoff. He said he cut taxes and regulations and was tough on public safety and election integrity.
He acknowledged the president, who endorsed him, during his roughly 10 minutes of remarks.
“I could not leave this stage without thanking President Donald J. Trump,” he said.
Jackson took shots at Burt Jones after advancing to a June 16 runoff, saying Jones “was all talk and no results.”
And while Jones was endorsed by Trump, Jackson said he would be Trump’s “favorite governor.”
“As governor, I’ll be like Trump but with a southern tongue,” said Jackson.
In announcing that he conceded defeat to Gallrein, Massie also made a jab at his opponent over the millions of dollars poured in to the race by pro-Israel groups to try to defeat the incumbent.
“I would have come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent and concede and it took a while to find Ed Gallrein in Tel Aviv,” Massie told the crowd.
Massie has voted against U.S. aid to Israel and faced accusations of antisemitism. He has denied the charges, arguing that he is generally against all foreign aid.
The race drew in millions of dollars against Massie from pro-Israel interest groups, including from the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund
Stelson, a one-time local TV anchor and personality, lost in 2024 to Perry by barely a percentage point in the right-leaning 10th District.
Stelson was backed by Shapiro and the House Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Stelson beat progressive challenger Justin Douglas for the right to challenge Perry again in the Harrisburg-area district.
After unseating Massie with strong backing from Trump, Gallrein pledged to take the party’s agenda to Washington and work closely with the president. His victory speech lasted around five minutes.
“We have a saying on the family farm that it’s a contact sport,” Gallrein said. “I can tell you that campaigning is one as well folks.”
Trump-endorsed Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones was the frontrunner for much of the lead-up to tonight’s gubernatorial primary, until health care executive and billionaire Rick Jackson entered the race just a few months ago.
Jackson spent millions of his own dollars to flood the state with campaign ads.
Many candidates backed by the president have enjoyed comfortable victories in their elections this primary season, but few have been up against a candidate with such a large campaign budget. Jones and Jackson have advanced to a June 16 runoff election.
The Kentucky congressman claimed in his speech after his defeat that young voters were still on his side.
“People that want somebody that will go along to get along, I’ve never heard of that strategy but that seems to be what the voters want,” Massie said. “But not the young voters.”
The crowd was still energetic despite Massie’s loss, and started a chant of “No more wars!” that the congressman joined in on. Massie’s speech meandered through different topics and touched on other politicians before another chant started of “America First!”
“We stirred up something. There is a yearning in this country for someone who will vote for principles over party,” Massie said.
Gov. Josh Shapiro was uncontested in Tuesday’s primary. He’s seeking a second term in the fall and puts his clout on the line in the battleground state ahead of a potential 2028 bid for the White House.
The 52-year-old has made his opposition to Trump’s agenda a central focus of his reelection campaign.
Shapiro is on track to break his own fundraising record. He’s working to flip important Republican-held U.S. House seats and deliver the first Democratic-controlled state Legislature in more than three decades.
Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity ran uncontested for the GOP’s nomination.
Shapiro — who made Kamala Harris’ short list for a vice presidential running mate in 2024 — has never said whether he’s actually interested in running for president.
The president, who had waged his own social media campaign against Massie, posted a photo showing him and Gallrein under the words “Ed Gallrein Wins! Endorsed by President Trump!”
The two-term state treasurer was uncontested in the GOP primary.
Garrity is running as a strong backer of Trump’s agenda as she attempts to be the first Republican to win the office in Pennsylvania since 2010.
Shapiro ran uncontested for the Democratic Party’s nomination to seek a second term.
Garrity lagged badly behind Shapiro in fundraising after winning two relatively low-profile races for treasurer.
The result showed the president’s persisting influence over GOP voters, adding to a growing number of Trump-backed primary challengers to defeat Republican lawmakers who angered him in his second term.
Massie, who has served in Congress since 2012, fell into Trump’s crosshairs in part by pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and denouncing the war in Iran.
Gallrein, a former Navy Seal who avoided making public appearances on the campaign trail, ran on his military service and loyalty to the president. He accused Massie of forsaking Trump and the party.
Gallrein is expected to win the general election in the deeply red district.
The Pennsylvania governor’s election night rally is being held in a converted centrifuge where the U.S. Navy once tested g-forces on astronauts.
The crowd of local Democrats began trickling in to the Fuge after 7 p.m. ET, ordering drinks and picking at appetizers in a circular event space with a vaulted ceiling and a wraparound projection screen where astronauts used to be tested to the limits of human tolerance to gravity and acceleration.
The location — in suburban Philadelphia’s Bucks County — is symbolic because it in a congressional district where Gov. Josh Shapiro is trying to help Democrats knock off Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and take back control of Congress.
Shapiro ran unopposed for the nomination in his reelection bid and was expected to speak after 9 p.m. ET. He was expected to appear later with his endorsed candidate in the district, Democrat Bob Harvie.
The Georgia secretary of state’s office said that won’t delay reporting for the rest of the county’s results.
A judge ordered a precinct at Ison Springs Elementary School to stay open until 11:02 p.m. because the school was placed on lockdown just before noon and remained closed until 4 p.m. over an incident that was unrelated to the election, the Secretary of State’s office said.
Sandy Springs police said officers responded to a call about a man dressed in military-style gear and reports of possible gunshots fired in the area. After an extensive manhunt, a suspect was taken into custody, police said.
Eleven Cobb County precincts were also staying open late, with delayed closures ranging from six minutes to an hour.
U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, who was endorsed by Trump, beat Daniel Cameron, a former state attorney general who leaned into his Christianity on the campaign trail.
The winner in November will replace U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is stepping down in a generational changing of the guard for Republicans.
Trump swayed the race not just through his endorsement but by offering a third challenger, Nate Morris, an ambassadorship just over two weeks before Election Day. Morris, who fashioned himself as the MAGA candidate, withdrew from the race and encouraged his backers to support Barr.
Barr was first elected in 2012 in the 6th Congressional District. He is expected to win the general election in the Republican-dominated state.
Eleven polling places in Georgia’s Cobb County, in the Atlanta suburbs, will be staying open late because of issues that arose during the day.
Blake Evans, who oversees elections for the secretary of state’s office, said the precincts were staying open because of problems with the electronic poll pads that are used to to check in voters. The extensions range from six minutes at one location to an hour at another, according to a judge’s order.
Deputy Secretary of State Matt Tyser said they are waiting on an order from a Fulton County judge to extend voting at a precinct in Sandy Springs, just north of Atlanta. That’s because a “law enforcement issue” that was unrelated to the election forced the closure of the polling place for several hours.
Most polls in Georgia are set to close at 7 p.m. ET.
Most of the polls in the state closed at 6 p.m. ET, including in the 4th District where U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie is up against Ed Gallrein in the Republican primary that’s garnered national attention.
The president picked Gallrein to compete against Massie, who’s frustrated Trump partly by pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Western Kentucky is in the Central Time Zone and polls there close at 7 p.m. ET.
Five of Oregon’s six congressional districts are held by Democrats.
Its 5th District, considered the most competitive, was flipped by Republicans for the first time in decades in 2022 but reclaimed by Democrats in 2024. The district stretches from southern Portland across the Cascade Range to Bend.
The incumbent, Democratic Rep. Janelle Bynum, is running against a primary opponent who has not reported raising any money.
Two candidates, a county commissioner and a political consultant, are running in the district’s GOP primary in the hope of trying to win the seat back for Republicans in November.
Both Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and Republican Stacy Garrity are running unopposed in their primaries.
Shapiro is heavily favored to win reelection this fall over Garrity, the state treasurer.
Republicans acknowledge Shapiro’s electoral strength, and may hope that Garrity can at least make it a close contest to help protect the party’s other candidates on the ballot in contests for Congress and the state Legislature.
Tuberville could face former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat, if both men secure their parties’ nominations.
The two last competed in the 2020 Senate race, when Tuberville easily defeated Jones, who was then the incumbent. Tuberville was boosted by a Trump endorsement and his high profile from his years as a football coach.
Jones, a former U.S. attorney, won a 2017 special election for U.S. Senate over Republican Roy Moore. Jones remains the last Democrat to win a statewide race in Alabama.
When Geoff Duncan was Georgia’s lieutenant governor, he resisted Trump’s efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the state in 2020. He’s since left the Republican Party, and he’s running for governor as a Democrat.
His campaign has involved a lot of apologizing to win over voters who may be turned off by his previously conservative positions.
It’s an interesting example of how traditional partisan lines have been scrambled since Trump rose to power a decade ago. Many Republicans who have crossed the president have retired or been defeated in primaries. Only a few of them have attempted to switch parties like Duncan.
Incumbent Tina Kotek is expected to win the Democratic primary and advance to November’s general election.
Elected to her first term as governor in 2022 after years in the Legislature, Kotek pledged to tackle homelessness, mental health and education. Despite approving funding and programs aimed at those issues, the state has continued to see rising homelessness and flagging student test scores that have failed to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Kotek also has sparred with the Trump administration, which sought to deploy the National Guard to Portland last fall during its immigration crackdown for the stated purpose of protecting federal property and personnel.
After the state and city sued to block the deployment, a federal judge found that protests at Portland’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building didn’t meet the conditions for using the military domestically under federal law.
The president supported an opponent to Massie, just as he has done elsewhere.
On May 5, several Indiana state senators who defied Trump on redistricting lost their primaries to candidates backed by the president.
On May 16, Sen. Bill Cassidy lost his primary in Louisiana. Rep. Julia Letlow, who Trump endorsed, and state Treasurer John Fleming will compete in a runoff.
Cassidy had voted to convict Trump during an impeachment trial over the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Massie angered Trump by voting against his signature tax legislation over concerns of adding to the national debt, pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and opposing his decision to go to war with Iran.
His positions, Massie insists, reflect the America First promises Trump initially made on the campaign trail.
In a Kentucky district where the president won by 35 points two years ago, Massie told The Associated Press that this primary is “by far the most challenging reelection I’ve ever faced.”
Voters have sent Massie back to Congress ever since his first election in 2012, embracing his stalwart independence and jaunty personality. Back in 2020, they brushed off Trump’s social media demand to throw Massie out of the Republican Party because he was a “third rate Grandstander.”
Their names may seem familiar.
The Democratic field in Kentucky includes former state lawmaker Charles Booker and former Marine pilot Amy McGrath. McGrath beat Booker and several other candidates in the 2020 Democratic primary to face McConnell.
Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate race in Kentucky since 1992.
Pennsylvania’s governor is also a potential 2028 presidential candidate. With his own primary uncontested, he’s been spending money and support on Democrats running for U.S. House and the state Legislature.
Shapiro is on track to break his own campaign spending record and, in a step to help races up and down the ballot, has plunged more than $900,000 so far this election cycle into the state Democratic Party’s accounts.
The election year is an opportunity for Shapiro to show his political strength in a premier battleground state should he decide to run for president in 2028.
