A few steps from the Boone County Courthouse in the northern Kentucky town of Burlington, Representative Thomas Massie was about to hold a public event a little over a week before voters would decide whether to keep him in office.
A boy walked up and offered him a piece of Pez candy.
“You know, President Trump hands out endorsements like you hand out candy,” Mr. Massie told the boy with a wry grin as he accepted the gift. “Just not to me.”
Mr. Massie was referring to Mr. Trump’s support for his opponent Ed Gallrein, as payback for his frequent apostasies. Mr. Massie had voted against the president’s tax legislation, calling it not frugal enough. He had voted repeatedly against the war in Iran and condemned aid to Israel as a misuse of taxpayer money. Most conspicuously, Mr. Massie had helped lead the charge to compel the release of the Epstein files despite the president’s resistance.
Mr. Trump has vowed to replace the man he has variously termed a “moron,” “loser” and “total disaster” with someone more loyal. In October, he settled on Mr. Gallrein, a dairy farmer and retired Navy SEAL captain.
The result is that Mr. Massie, who has never faced serious opposition since first winning office in 2012, now finds himself in a tough fight. He says his campaign’s internal polling shows the race deadlocked, but some recent public surveys have shown Mr. Gallrein ahead.
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