Massie wins House GOP primary despite Trump call to be ousted from party

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) won the GOP House primary in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, leaving him in place to earn a fifth term in November in the heavily Republican area. 

Massie defeated rival Todd McMurtry in the primary by 88 percent to 12 percent, with 73 percent of precincts reporting. The race was dominated by accusations of racism among the two Republican candidates.

Massie won reelection in 2018 by about 27 points.

His win in the GOP primary on Tuesday comes after he drew President Trump’s ire earlier this year after he attempted to hold up a more than $2 trillion coronavirus relief package in late March.

Trump blasted Massie on Twitter at the time, labeling him a “grandstander” and calling for him to be thrown out of the Republican Party.

Lawmakers in both parties eventually thwarted Massie’s effort, passing the relief bill and sending it to Trump’s desk for a signature.

The Kentucky primary, originally scheduled for May 19, was postponed due to the pandemic. Like other states, Kentucky is seeing a surge in mail-in ballots.