Massie Says GOP Risks Losing America First Base If Primary Challenge Succeeds
"A lot of my donors are just Ronald Reagan–type Republicans..."
This article originally appeared on the Daily Caller News Foundation and was republished with permission.
Guest post by Ashley Brasfield
Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie says the GOP may lose its ‘America First’ base if his Trump-backed primary challenger succeeds in ousting him from Congress.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Caller on Monday, Massie warned that if he loses, the party’s metaphorical “tent” will shrink perilously should his GOP challenger, former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, win the primary.
In an effort to juice his available cash ahead of the primary, Massie hosted a virtual livestream fundraiser Monday night.
The independent-minded congressman’s scrappy “Money Bomb” fundraising push raised $351,318 within the first 24 hours.
Massie, who represents Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, energized supporters during the more than three-hour-long event in an effort to drive grassroots support behind his campaign.
Massie told the Caller it was “one of the most exciting days of the campaign.”
“My expectation was $100,000, and I thought my high expectation was $200,000, and we’ve exceeded that,” Massie told the Caller. “I mean … our best record in one day donations was $160,000 a year ago — actually, when Donald Trump attacked me viciously the first time.”
The livestream featured guests such as former Republican Texas Rep. Ron Paul and his son, Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, former Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and comedian Dave Smith. Massie noted that total donations increased by roughly $20,000 for each guest.
Massie told the Caller that he doesn’t necessarily see the fundraiser as evidence of a growing anti-establishment sentiment within the Republican Party.
“I don’t think it’s libertarian in nature, or even anti-establishment,” he said. “I think a lot of my donors are just Ronald Reagan-type Republicans who want to return to sanity and see Congress function. I get people donating to me who say, ‘Look, I haven’t agreed with you in the past. I may only agree with you on 70 or 80% of what you do, but you’re the only one up there doing anything right now.’”
Massie described the “Money Bomb” as a throwback to the constitutional conservative and libertarian wing of the Republican Party and likened it to past fundraising efforts led by Ron Paul and Rand Paul, in which he personally participated.
Just 20 minutes into his conversation with the Caller, Massie paused to note that the donation ticker had already reached $275,000.
Massie — relying on 3,200 microdonors — told the Caller that the success of this first effort demonstrates the campaign can raise funds without depending on just a handful of mega-donors.
“I have colleagues who would stab each other in the back for a list of 3,200 emails they could ask for money from. And these are emails, it didn’t cost us anything to get them. The people gave them to us because they believe in the campaign. So, in the home stretch, I think it gives us some resilience, knowing we’re not relying on just three or four mega-donors,” he added.
Massie said that unlike a few large “max” donors who can only give once during the primary, the 3,200 microdonors can contribute multiple times. Fewer than 20 of the donors were maxed out, meaning the vast majority still have the capacity to give again before the May 19 primary, providing the campaign with ongoing fundraising potential.
Massie added that his main focus is running positive ads. While a Trump-aligned super PAC has poured money into TV ads attacking his record, Massie says he plans to stay on message with constructive, positive campaigning.
The Money Bomb website also featured a real-time dot map showing where each donation originated, along with a live donation counter and ticker that updates with each new contribution — a feature Massie described as a “thank you letter in real time.”
He said he wants to take the map showing the 3,200 donors to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) chair, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Whip Tom Emmer.
Massie warned that if he loses, the party could risk not only those donors but also the votes of their families and extended networks in the midterms.
“Not only have we squandered probably $10 million of Republican mega-donor money against me — money that could have been used to prop up somebody in a marginal district — you have also alienated a large fraction of the Republican Party for whom I’m the only one they identify with in Congress,” Massie said.
Massie also discussed the appeal of his fundraising approach to younger Americans, noting how it differs from the typical techniques used with the traditional GOP donor class.
“With the younger crowd in my district, I am killing it, because … I think when you’re younger, your BS sniffer works really well. You’re in survival mode, and you can tell when old people are lying to you. Then, as you get older, you kind of realize people lie a lot, so you just have to tolerate a few lies here and there, and your BS sniffer becomes attenuated,” he told the Caller.
He added that he believes he resonates with young voters because he is “consistent” and they agree with him on many issues. He pointed to his leadership in pushing for releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files — unlike Johnson, who Massie claims committed “political malpractice by being on the wrong side of this issue.”
The GOP representative also highlighted a surprising demographic where Republicans have struggled to gain traction: young women. He said he is performing well with this group due to his support for alleged Epstein victims.
“They might otherwise recoil at some of the political positions I’ve taken, but they’ll take authenticity from somebody they agree with 60 or 70% of the time over somebody who lies to them 100% of the time,” he stated.
He said that his long-standing commitment to championing issues that now align with the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda has also helped him gain support among young women.
“It’s almost like I’ve been here with a surfboard on a beach with no water, and then the water shows up,” he told the Caller.
The Caller pressed Massie about what comes next if he wins the primary.
“I don’t want to say anti-war because it’s not even necessarily anti-war. We can keep the people in the party who are just tired of unnecessary war and unnecessary intervention: the America First people,” he told the Caller.
“MAGA is fractured. Marjorie [Taylor Greene] left and she took part of them with her, frankly, and I’m still running on the America First parts of the MAGA campaign and the MAHA campaign. And if I win, we can keep those people in the tent and keep them motivated to vote in November,” he said.
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I understand the President's frustration with Massie, but I like having him in Congress even when I disagree with him. He's right that spending money against him is wasteful, when there are other candidates in need of financing. I'd vote for him if I lived in 4 instead of 5!
Massie is one of a very few true patriots in our Congress. He clearly wants better of us and for us.
So of course the system tries to destroy him.