Thomas Massie Thinks Being Hated by Trump Is ‘Worth It.’ Will Voters A...

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Representative Thomas Massie is in the toughest fight of his political career.

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Jon Cherry for The New York Times

Thomas Massie Thinks Being Hated by Trump Is ‘Worth It.’ Will Voters Agree?

The Republican congressman from Kentucky is a die-hard libertarian who has centered his campaign on his willingness to buck the president. It has bought him the most expensive primary in the country.

Representative Thomas Massie is in the toughest fight of his political career.

Credit...

Jon Cherry for The New York Times

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By

Catie Edmondson

Catie Edmondson, a congressional correspondent, reported from Cynthiana, Ky., and from the cattle pen at Representative Thomas Massie’s farm.

March 24, 2026

Updated

10:42 a.m. ET

Representative Thomas Massie was wedged in the back of a pickup truck careening through the hills and hollers of his district back to his off-the-grid farm here in Kentucky, scrolling on his phone through the litany of memes his legion of online fans have created on his behalf.

Then he landed on his favorite, a photo of himself playing the banjo, with accompanying text that read: “Here’s a little song I wrote called ‘I’ll still win, but if I lose, it was worth it.’”

That has become Mr. Massie’s battle cry these days as the only Republican in the country centering his re-election bid unapologetically on his willingness to buck his own party, even if it means defying President Trump. He has been singled out by Mr. Trump as “disloyal” and “a complete and total disaster” after leading the charge within the G.O.P. to release the Epstein files. A thorn in the president’s side on everything from federal spending to the war in Iran, Mr. Massie is now embroiled in the toughest fight of his political career, a contest set to be the most expensive congressional primary in the nation.

A die-hard libertarian with a puckish sensibility and a yen for the minutia of congressional procedure, Mr. Massie has frequently upset the apple cart of Washington. When he single-handedly called every member of the House back during the height of the pandemic to cast an in-person vote on the coronavirus relief bill, Mr. Trump endorsed against him. He

beat that opponent by 62 points

and developed what he called the “

Trump antibodies

.”

This time is different. Outside groups, led by the Republican Jewish Coalition and

three G.O.P. megadonors

, have already dumped

more than $5 million

into the race to oust him. This month, Mr. Trump flew to Mr. Massie’s district and delivered a roughly eight-minute screed against the congressman before backslapping the former Navy SEAL the president’s team selected to challenge him.

“I think I was a curious annoyance to them four years ago or six years ago — whenever that was,” Mr. Massie said in a lengthy interview. “And now they’re upset because they like fake fights, but I’m throwing real punches that are landing on issues.”

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