President Donald Trump’s push to oust Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is beginning to take shape, but the would-be replacements are already looking like duds in his eyes.
According to a report Saturday in Politico, “high-level Republican officials” are already recommending to Trump potential challengers for Massie, who drew the president’s ire after defying him on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as well as being the leading Republican voice in pushing for files on Jeffrey Epstein to be released.
According to Politico, former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is being floated by GOP officials as a potential primary challenger to Massie, despite Cameron having already launched a bid for Senate. For Trump, however, Cameron may already be a non-starter.
“The president, I’m told, is still irritated at Cameron for losing his 2023 race against Gov. Andy Beshear and laments to anybody who will listen that Cameron was defined as too extreme on abortion,” wrote Politico reporter Jonathan Martin, based on his discussions with GOP officials who spoke with the outlet on the condition of anonymity.
“Beshear prevailed by five points in an otherwise deep red state in part because of his ad campaign linking Cameron to Kentucky’s strict abortion law.”
Another name floated was Arron Reed, a Kentucky state senator and former Navy Seal. Again, however, Reed carried baggage with him that left Trump less-than convinced he would be the right pick to oust Massie, who Trump has called the “worst Republican congressman.”
“Those who’ve heard Trump’s gripe about Cameron’s refusal to support abortion exceptions for rape and incest include a Kentucky state senator, Aaron Reed, who recently met with the president about entering the primary against Massie,” Martin wrote.
“However, Trump did not come away totally convinced that Reed, a deeply conservative former Navy SEAL, is the answer, according to Republicans familiar with the meeting. The reason? He also sounded, to Trump’s ear, too extreme on abortion.”
Massie, however, largely shrugged off the talks of primary challengers, according to an anonymous ally of his.
“If the frontrunner in the Senate race, Daniel Cameron, wants to run for Congress, then Thomas Massie will switch with him and become the frontrunner in the Senate race,” the Massie ally told Martin.