We\u2019ve been here before \u2014 just on the other side of the aisle. The Kentucky primary is the most expensive ever, with more than $32 million in total ad spending, according to Politico. The second- and third-most expensive primaries ever also centered around Israel, when AIPAC-backed candidates ousted two anti-Israel Democratic members of the far-left Squad in 2024.<\/p>\n
Back then, those primaries sent a message that pro-Israel forces still held sway in the Democratic Party, and a similar narrative is emerging in Kentucky. But two years of hindsight show that the 2024 races did little to halt the skydive in Democratic support for Israel. And there are signs this time that even if Massie loses, his defeat will be a bump in the road for Republican opponents of Israel, not a dead end.<\/p>\n
\t A thorn in AIPAC\u2019s side<\/p>\n Massie has long been a thorn in the side of AIPAC and pro-Israel Republicans. In 2021, he was the only GOP lawmaker to vote against funding Iron Dome. Appearing on the far-right Carlson\u2019s show in 2024, Massie said<\/a> he voted against measures supporting Israel 15 times in one month because he\u2019s against \u201csending our money overseas\u201d and \u201cstarting another proxy war.\u201d<\/p>\n He has also posted on X about Israel\u2019s \u201cindiscriminate bombing\u201c in Gaza. In another post, he wrote, \u201cIsrael\u2019s war in Gaza is so lopsided that there\u2019s no rational argument American taxpayers should be paying for it. With tens of thousands of civilian casualties, there\u2019s a moral dilemma too.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition, he\u2019s drawn the ire of Jewish groups for reasons largely unrelated to Israel. In 2021, he posted a meme<\/a> comparing COVID vaccine mandates to the tattoos given to Auschwitz inmates. The previous year, he voted against a bill providing more funding for Holocaust education. He also voted against a bill combating antisemitism that used the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance\u2019s working definition of antisemitism \u2014 something that critics say is used to try and stifle criticism of Israel.<\/p>\n Antisemitism has also surfaced during his campaign. A pro-Massie PAC took aim at one of his opponent\u2019s Jewish backers, Paul Singer, accusing the Republican megadonor in an ad<\/a> of being a \u201cfar-left trans activist\u201d and, at one point, without explanation, displaying a rainbow-pattered Star of David behind his head while saying he is \u201cspending millions to remove Massie.\u201d<\/p>\n Contacted by Axios, Massie did not condemn the ad and said the primary is \u201ca referendum on whether the Israeli lobby can buy a seat in Kentucky. Paul Singer is among those.\u201d<\/p>\n \t Gallrein, meanwhile, has gotten into hot water over an AI-generated ad<\/a> by a group supporting him that showed Massie in a \u201cthrouple\u201d with far-left Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, who are both harsh critics of Israel.<\/p>\n At odds with Trump<\/p>\n Israel isn\u2019t the only issue where Massie and Trump are at odds. Massie was one of the leaders of the effort to release the Epstein files, which Trump, who was friends with Epstein, tried to prevent. Massie also voted against Trump\u2019s signature spending bill.<\/p>\n Trump isn\u2019t shy about going after Republicans he deems disloyal, and his opposition is usually a political death sentence. In Indiana, a group of state senators he opposed were defeated earlier this month. And Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump in his 2021 impeachment trial, lost his own primary last week.<\/p>\n Despite the several issues at play in the primary, Massie has framed the campaign around Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen this race is over, whether I won or lost, that\u2019s the story: Were they able to come in and take out a Republican who\u2019s skeptical of Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s policies?\u201d Massie said to Politico<\/a>, insisting that he is \u201cnot against Israel\u201d and isn\u2019t antisemitic. \u201cMy opponent wouldn\u2019t even be out of the starting blocks if it weren\u2019t for that money.\u201d<\/p>\n \t One of Massie\u2019s most prominent backers is Carlson, himself a vociferous critic of Israel. In a recent video<\/a> Carlson uploaded, he called Massie \u201cthe American they told us we should aspire to be,\u201d and \u201cthe man you want your son to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Carlson, too, claimed that Massie faces opposition because he \u201cexplained how the process works \u2014 how it is that members of Congress\u2026 wind up spending such a huge percentage of their time doing the bidding of a tiny Middle Eastern country.\u201d<\/p>\n How much will the race matter?<\/p>\n If Massie loses on Tuesday, pro-Israel groups will count it as a victory. But how much will it matter in the long run?<\/p>\n In 2024, AIPAC and other pro-Israel activists backed challengers to Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush, Squad members and outspoken opponents of Israel. They both lost, and the people who replaced them are much friendlier to Israeli policies. But it didn\u2019t reverse the anti-Israel tide in the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n \t Since then, over two dozen<\/a> Democratic members of Congress have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Eighty percent of Democratic voters have an unfavorable view<\/a> of Israel. Forty Democratic senators voted<\/a> to block some arms sales to Israel against the backdrop of conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran along with rampant settler violence in the West Bank. The fact that AIPAC ousted one percent of the US House Democratic caucus doesn\u2019t seem to have made much difference overall.<\/p>\n The same could happen among Republicans after a Massie defeat. Opposition to Israel in the GOP is more limited than it is among Democrats, but it\u2019s on an upward trajectory. The same poll that found 80% of Democrats have an unfavorable view of Israel reported that 57% of Republicans under 50 feel the same way.<\/p>\n Something (or someone) younger Republicans do like is Massie. One poll<\/a> \u2014 albeit with small sample sizes \u2014 found that if the primary were held only among voters under 55, Massie would win.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26070845374851-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tCongressional candidate Ed Gallrein speaks as US President Donald Trump listens at Verst Logistics Contract Packaging Facility, March 11, 2026, in Hebron, Kentucky. (AP\/Jon Cherry)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5-11-26-Massie-Ad-Paul-Singer-640x400.jpeg\")
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\n\t\tIn a new ad for the reelection of Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, a rainbow Star of David is prominently featured behind Republican activist investor Paul Singer, who is Jewish. (Screenshot via YouTube\/JTA)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26125494188584-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tUS Rep. Thomas Massie speaks to reporters after a Kentucky Educational Television (KET) debate, May 4, 2026, in Lexington, Kentucky. (AP\/Jon Cherry)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP24130431262237-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tThen-US Rep. Cori Bush and US Rep. Rashida Tlaib, accompanied by George Washington University students, speak during a news conference at the US Capitol, May 8, 2024, in Washington, DC. (AP\/Jose Luis Magana)<\/p>\n
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