Anti-Trump RINO Gets Devastating Election News – He Lost -
CIVIL WAR IN KENTUCKY: Trump-Backed ‘Revenge Mission’ Hits Fever Pitch as Boone County GOP Deals Blow to Massie
HEBRON, KY – The battle for the soul of the Republican Party is exploding in Kentucky’s 4th District, where a high-stakes "revenge mission" by President Donald Trump has turned a local primary into a national firestorm.
In a move sending shockwaves through the district, the Boone County Republican Party voted 50-28 to uphold a neutrality rule, refusing to put its thumb on the scale for incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie as he faces the fight of his political life against Trump-endorsed former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein.
TRUMP’S TARGET: THE ‘DISASTER’ IN D.C.
The President isn't just watching this race—he's leading the charge to end Massie's career. Trump has pulled no punches in his effort to unseat the man he once called a "disaster."
At a recent rally in the heart of the district, Trump stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Gallrein, a battle-tested warrior, and issued a blistering indictment of the incumbent.
“Massie is a complete and total disaster as a congressman and, frankly, as a human being,” Trump told a fired-up crowd.
The feud is personal. Insiders say the President is seeking payback after Massie bucked the White House on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and opposed the administration’s military operations in Iran.
A WAR OF WALLETS
The airwaves are being flooded as outside groups dump historic amounts of cash into the race. According to AdImpact, a staggering $12.4 million has already been spent on advertisements.
The spending gap is telling: $6.8 million has come from the Gallrein camp and outside allies like MAGA KY and the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory PAC. They are hammering Massie for his "No" votes on immigration and border security—specifically his opposition to President Trump’s "One Big Beautiful Bill"—and his stance on the war in Iran.
THE ‘NO’ MAN VS. THE ‘NAVY SEAL’
Massie, a libertarian firebrand who has built a brand on being the lone "No" vote in Washington, is betting that his constituents value independence over blind loyalty.
"I read the bills. I try to make the decision based on what is best," Massie told supporters at a GOP dinner, taking a swipe at Gallrein for skipping the event. "I’m running against a guy whose main thing is he will promise you he will go along to get along. I don’t think we need a rubber stamp."
But Gallrein’s team says the district—where Trump remains a titan—wants a teammate, not a maverick.
"Captain Gallrein is honored that President Trump has been so supportive of his campaign to defeat every liberal’s favorite Republican," said Gallrein spokesperson Alexandra Wilkes.
BY THE NUMBERS: CAN TRUMP TILT THE SCALE?
The math is daunting for Massie. In Grant County, Trump commanded a massive 80% of the vote in 2024. If those voters follow the President's lead on May 19, Massie’s 14-year run in Congress could be over.
While Massie claims his internal polling shows him ahead, political experts say this is a coin toss.
“Massie is his own dude,” said Shauna Reilly, a political science professor at Northern Kentucky University. “He’s running his own campaign, and I think like it or lump it, that’s how he’s going to approach this.”
THE BOTTOM LINE: On May 19, Kentucky voters will decide if they want a constitutional "fighter" who isn't afraid to say "No" to his own party, or a Navy SEAL who promises to be the "backup" President Trump says he needs in Washington.
Nearly 150,000 California Mail Ballots Rejected In Primary
California election officials are examining why nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots were rejected during the state’s June primary, with late-arriving ballots accounting for most of the increase.
The higher rejection rate comes despite years of election law changes designed to make voting more accessible and ensure more ballots are ultimately counted.
According to data compiled by the California Secretary of State’s office, 148,241 mail-in ballots were rejected during the June primary, representing 1.73% of all mail ballots returned.
That marks an increase from the 2024 primary, when 108,982 ballots were rejected, or 1.56% of all mail ballots cast.
The largest reason for rejection was ballots arriving too late to qualify under California law.
State data shows that 93,479 ballots were rejected because they failed to meet the state’s deadline requirements.
California allows mail ballots to arrive up to seven days after Election Day, provided they are postmarked on or before Election Day.
Voting experts believe many of the rejected ballots received postmarks dated after Election Day, making them ineligible to be counted even if they arrived within the seven-day grace period.
Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, said the timing of postal processing appears to be a significant concern.
“Ballots rejected due to lateness are caused primarily to being postmarked too late to count, not because they arrived too late to count,” Alexander said.
Election experts have questioned whether recent operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service may be contributing to delayed postmarks.
Earlier this year, a group of mostly Democratic U.S. senators wrote to the Postal Service expressing concern that mail-processing changes could affect ballot handling during federal elections.
Updated Postal Service procedures mean postmarks may reflect when mail is processed at regional facilities rather than when it first enters the mail system.
Because processing centers have been consolidated in some areas, election officials have warned that postmark timing could be affected.
Before the June primary, California election officials encouraged voters to mail ballots as early as possible because of potential postal delays.
The June election also featured a highly competitive race for governor, which some experts believe encouraged many voters to wait until the final days before casting ballots.
In addition to late-arriving ballots, approximately 44,000 ballots were rejected because election officials determined the voter’s signature did not match the signature on file.
Another 8,300 ballots were rejected because the return envelope did not contain a signature.
State records also show that 743 ballots were rejected because those voters had already cast another ballot.
Other rejected ballots involved missing ballots inside return envelopes or multiple ballots submitted in a single envelope.
The highest rejection rate in the state occurred in Tulare County, where 3.52% of returned mail ballots were rejected.
Alpine County and Merced County followed closely, each recording rejection rates of 3.36%.
California has frequently faced criticism for taking weeks to complete vote counting after major elections, largely because state law permits ballots meeting certain requirements to continue arriving after Election Day.
Following the June primary, President Donald Trump again criticized California’s election system, while the Department of Justice opened an investigation into election administration in Los Angeles County.
Election experts emphasize that the increase in rejected ballots should not be interpreted as evidence of widespread voter fraud.
A 2025 report by the Brookings Institution found documented cases of mail ballot fraud remained extremely rare, estimating roughly four cases for every 10 million mail ballots cast, The Associated Press reported.
State officials have not identified evidence of widespread fraud connected to the June primary, but the increase in rejected ballots is expected to receive additional scrutiny as election administrators evaluate whether changes in postal operations, voter behavior or election procedures contributed to the higher rejection rate.
