Trump-backed Kentucky Republican wins House seat

Republican Ed Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL and farmer, is projected to win in the race to represent Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, a seat currently held by President Trump critic Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky), according to Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ).

Gallrein, whom Trump endorsed, defeated Democrat Melissa Strange and libertarian Jeremy Todd for the seat. The president had stumped for Gallrein in the weeks leading up to Election Day.

Gallrein led by 29 percentage points — 59 percent to 30 percent — with a small share of the vote reported by DDHQ as of 6:20 p.m. Tuesday.

Gallrein defeated Massie in the GOP primary back in May, securing the nomination with 54.9 percent of the vote to Massie’s 45.1 percent.

Massie has repeatedly butted heads with the president, backing war powers resolutions that would limit the president’s military actions in Iran, spearheading legislation to require the Department of Justice to release files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and opposing GOP-backed spending legislation.

Gallrein, meanwhile, has supported advancing many of Trump’s priorities, including finishing the construction of the border wall, funding Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and ending what he describes as a “woke” agenda, according to his website.

“For the same reason I joined the service then, I joined for this campaign now – to serve these folks. When President Trump talked to me back on 17 October in 2025 and told me I needed to serve my district, the party, and my nation again, then I went home, thought about it, prayed on it. He asked me to do that, and then four days later, I declared on 21 October to enter the race…to serve these folks. They deserve that,” Gallrein told KET last month.

Asked by KET whether he would pledge blind loyalty to the president if elected, Gallrein said, “What I pledge allegiance to is the Constitution and the Lord.”

“If you look at the oath of the congressperson, and then also the officer oath that I took when I joined the military, as I said at 26 years old, there’s two things that I swear to: the Constitution and the Lord. Full stop. That’s where my loyalty is. And then, furthermore, to the people I serve, I answer to them. It’s as straightforward as that,” Gallrein said.