Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is scheduled to join Ed Gallrein—the Republican primary candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District—at a May 18 event in the state, a day before voters head to the polls in Gallrein’s race against incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).
The event, hosted by America First Works (AFW), will “provide a unique chance for the American people to hear from leaders of the America First movement and patriots who share the values that made our nation great,” AFW president Ashley Hayek said in a May 16 statement.
AFW is a Trump-aligned nonprofit that advocates for the “America First” agenda.
Hegseth is also slated to preside over a Purple Heart ceremony at Fort Campbell, located near the Kentucky-Tennessee border, according to the Department of Defense. That event will recognize 101st Airborne Division soldiers wounded in a 2003 grenade attack in Kuwait.
Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District is one of the nation’s most closely watched and expensive Republican primaries in the 2026 election cycle.
Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, is trying to unseat Massie, who was first elected to Congress in 2012.
The primary winner will be heavily favored to win the general election in November in the Republican stronghold.
The race is now the most expensive House primary in U.S. history. More than $25 million has been spent on digital, radio, and television ads. Pro-Israel organizations and pro-Trump groups such as MAGA KY have poured millions of dollars into attacks on Massie.
“The Great People of Kentucky are wise to Massie—He only votes against the Republican Party, making life very easy for the Radical Left,” Trump wrote in a May 17 Truth Social post.
“Unlike ‘lightweight’ Massie, a totally ineffective LOSER who has failed us so badly, CAPTAIN ED GALLREIN IS A WINNER WHO WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN. Election Day is Tuesday, May 19th. VOTE FOR ED GALLREIN — HE HAS MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Gallrein has called Massie an “obstacle” to Trump’s agenda as the president has repeatedly clashed with the lawmaker.
Massie has said that he voted with Republicans “91 percent of the time.”
“The 9 percent of the time I don’t, my party is taking up for pedophiles, bankrupting this country or starting another war,” Massie said at a May 16 campaign rally in Florence.
“They want 100 percent compliance. That’s why they’re trying to take me out,” he said.
Upon learning of Hegseth’s scheduled appearance with Gallrein in the district, Massie’s campaign wrote a post on X referencing a Daily Caller May 17 article raising questions about Gallrein’s military service.
Also on May 17, Massie said on ABC News’ “This Week” that Hegseth’s visit signals that the Trump administration is “panicked” about Gallrein’s chances.
“That’s why they’re sending the Secretary of War to my district tomorrow,” Massie said on the show.
“That’s why the president’s losing sleep and tweeting about this. That’s why AIPAC has dumped another $3 million into my race this weekend—because they’re panicked, and they really haven’t been able to gain a lead in this race,” Massie added.
Massie held multiple rallies across northern Kentucky over the weekend with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Col.).
“I’ve had millions of dollars come in from the grassroots, tens of thousands of donors to my website. And it’s still coming in. And that’s how we’re gonna beat them,” Massie told “This Week.”
Gallrein has accused Massie of being a “darling of the mainstream media” and having “Trump derangement syndrome.”
At the May 16 rally, where Massie was joined by several Republican colleagues from Washington, he told a crowd of supporters that he was grateful for the support and acknowledged that they showed courage for facing potential backlash from the president.
After the rally, Boebert told The Epoch Times that “the fear is real” among elected officials in Washington who “support Massie and want him to win.”
They are reluctant to speak up, she added.
“That’s why I’m here. I didn’t want to just say I support him. I wanted to show it by being here. We can’t let special interest groups and billionaires with their agenda come in and buy a Congressional seat,” Boebert said.
Boebert has said that people can support Trump and Massie. She lamented the narrative, much of which comes from Trump, that elected officials and voters must choose one or the other.
“I support President Trump. I haven’t voted 100 percent of the time with what he has wanted, and he hasn’t always backed what I support. That doesn’t mean I’m angry with him. We don’t have to agree all the time. This is a coalition to preserve, restore and save our country. This isn’t a cult,” Boebert added.
Trump wrote on Truth Social in response to Boebert campaigning for Massie in Kentucky, “Boebert is campaigning for the Worst ‘Republican’ Congressman in the History of our Country, Thomas Massie, of the Great Commonwealth of Kentucky, and anybody who can be that dumb deserves a good Primary fight!”
Boebert responded with a post on X, “Yes, I saw the President’s post. No, I’m not mad or offended. I knew the risks when I agreed to stand by my friend Thomas Massie. I was, and will be, America First, America Always, and MAGA.”
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