Scoop: Primary challengers circle Thomas Massie after Trump-defying vote

• "Massie is about to be in the fight of his life," said Kentucky-based GOP strategist Jake Cox. "Just wait until he sees the money a Trump-backed candidate can raise simply from the President saying their name into a camera or opening up his email list."
• Two possible primary challengers being mentioned in Kentucky Republican circles are state Sen. Aaron Reed and state Rep. Kimberly Moser.
• A statewide Kentucky GOP official tells Axios: "Massie has had weak primary opponents in previous cycles and made mincemeat of them, but I think this time is different. Supporting Trump is the No. 1 — and sometimes the only — issue in GOP primaries at the moment."

What they're saying: Trump has privately wondered what the point is of having a Republican in Massie's seat if "they're going to vote with Democrats and trash Republicans all the time."

• Trump's anger boiled on Tuesday, when he told reporters in the Capitol that the congressman should be "voted out of office."
• The president's political lieutenants piled on. "Some guys just prefer to be in the minority," White House deputy chief of staff James Blair said of Massie on X.
• When asked during a Thursday briefing whether Trump believed — as well as Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), who also voted "no" — should be primaried, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded: "I believe he does and I believe he does not like to see grandstanders in Congress."

The background: Massie and Trump have clashed for years.

• In 2019, Massie joined House Democrats in opposing Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the southern border.
• After Massie opposed a COVID relief package in 2020, Trump called on the congressman to be thrown "out of the Republican Party."
• Massie was one of six House Republicans to endorse Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over Trump during the 2024 Republican presidential primary.
• After Massie opposed a Trump-backed government spending bill in March, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the congressman was a "GRANDSTANDER."

Behind the scenes: During the transition, Trump privately asked DeSantis for advice on how to deal with Massie.

• "Give him raw milk," DeSantis said, referring to one of Massie's legislative priorities, according to a person briefed on the conversation.

The other side: Massie told Axios he was skeptical Trump allies would find a strong candidate to run against him.

• Massie noted he had easily fended off primary challenges in the last three elections and said his private polling showed him popular in his conservative central Kentucky district.
• "If somebody got in this race and they were a reasonable person, not crazy to run against me, I would call them up and say: 'You know what you should do before you dedicate the next year and a half of your life to getting your a** kicked? You should do a poll,'" Massie said.
• Massie also said Trump's attacks on him were helping him fundraise, pointing out he had raised $47,000 this week and had a series of donor events lined up in California next week.
• The congressman's allies say his independent streak endears him to voters.

The intrigue: Massie said he spoke to Trump a few weeks before the election and a few weeks after, but not since. After Massie's wife died in June 2024, Trump left him a voicemail expressing his condolences, Massie said.

• During the call after the election, Massie told Trump he would be interested in serving as his agriculture secretary, an idea Trump passed on.
• "I would have taken it," Massie said.

Editor's note: This article has been corrected to note that Massie's wife died in 2024.