President Donald Trump’s long-running campaign to politically destroy one of the last openly defiant Republicans in Congress has officially turned into the most expensive House primary battle in modern American history.
And the war against Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie is becoming increasingly brutal.
According to new advertising data, nearly $33 million has already been spent in the Republican primary showdown between Massie and Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL. That figure makes the race the most expensive House primary contest recorded since ad-tracking firm AdImpact began monitoring congressional spending in 2018.
The flood of money has transformed a northern Kentucky congressional race into a national proxy battle over loyalty to Trump, foreign policy, and the future identity of the Republican Party itself.
Massie has spent years frustrating both Republican leadership and Trump allies by taking independent positions on issues ranging from surveillance and government spending to war powers and foreign aid.
Most recently, Massie infuriated powerful factions inside the GOP by criticizing U.S. involvement in the Iran conflict and helping push for the release of long-secret Jeffrey Epstein-related government files.
That made him a major target.
Trump allies and pro-Israel organizations have poured staggering amounts of money into the race trying to remove him from office. Roughly $19 million has already been spent attacking Massie or boosting Gallrein.
Last summer, Trump’s political operation reportedly helped create a dedicated super PAC called MAGA KY specifically to defeat Massie. The effort attracted support from billionaire Republican megadonor Paul Singer as well as a pro-Trump super PAC heavily backed by Miriam Adelson.
Two pro-Israel organizations, including one connected to the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee, alone spent more than $9 million targeting Massie over his opposition to additional foreign aid and military escalation involving Iran.
But Massie is not exactly fighting alone.
A mysterious outside group called Kentucky 4th PAC has spent approximately $6.5 million in the final weeks of the race supporting the congressman. The organization has not publicly disclosed its donors, adding another layer of intrigue to an already chaotic campaign.
And then things got even stranger.
The race has become one of the first major congressional contests dominated by artificial-intelligence-generated deepfake political ads.
In one pro-Massie ad funded by Kentucky 4th PAC, Gallrein is digitally depicted abandoning Donald Trump on a battlefield. In response, a pro-Gallrein ad created by MAGA KY used AI-generated imagery showing Massie socializing and dining with progressive Democratic lawmakers Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
According to analysis cited in the report, groups spent at least $1.7 million on deepfake campaign advertising alone, generating more than 49 million online views.
The race has effectively become a test of several forces colliding at once: Trump’s continued dominance inside the Republican Party, the growing influence of outside megadonors, the role of pro-Israel advocacy groups in GOP primaries, and the arrival of AI-generated political warfare at full scale.
Trump himself has repeatedly escalated attacks on Massie in recent weeks, publicly calling him “the worst congressman” and urging Kentucky Republicans to throw him “out of business.”
Yet despite the avalanche of money and pressure, Massie continues insisting the effort to remove him may backfire.
The congressman argues voters are growing tired of establishment intervention and outside influence flooding local elections. He has also repeatedly pointed to his grassroots donor network as proof that ordinary Republicans still support independent-minded conservatives willing to challenge leadership when necessary.
