Ed Gallrein
Ed Gallrein (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Kentucky's 4th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on May 19, 2026.[source]
2026 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the May 19 Republican primary for Kentucky's 4th Congressional District as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Three candidates are running in the Republican primary for Kentucky's 4th Congressional District on May 19, 2026: incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie (R), Nicole Lee Ethington (R), and Ed Gallrein (R). Massie and Gallrein lead in endorsements and media attention.
One noteworthy element of this election is President Donald Trump's (R) relationships with Massie and Gallrein. Kentucky Lantern's Tom Loftus wrote that Massie diverged from Trump on multiple issues in the 119th Congress such as "opposs[ing] Trump's showcase public policy proposal, the Big Beautiful Bill Act, over concerns about the bill's impact on the national debt" and "push[ing] to force a vote to require the Justice Department to release its records of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein."[1]
In response to Massie, Trump endorsed Gallrein on Oct. 17, 2025, posting on Truth Social: "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."[2]
According to the University of Kentucky's Stephen Voss, "A lot of Republican voters in Massie's district are going to be willing to consider an alternative to Massie because of Donald Trump's spats with Massie. But just because you're not fully happy with your member of Congress doesn't mean you end up willing to vote for someone else."[3]
Massie was first elected to represent Kentucky's 4th Congressional District in a 2012 special election. He previously served as the Lewis County Judge Executive from 2010 to 2012. Massie's professional experience includes working as a farmer and business owner.[4]
Massie said, "Fourth district voters appreciate having an independent conservative voice who works for them, and I look forward to continuing my fight for transparency, constitutional rights, secure borders, a true America-first foreign policy, and fiscal responsibility."[5]
Gallrein is a farmer and business owner.[6] He also served in the U.S. Navy from 1984 to 2014.[6] In 2024, Gallrein ran to represent District 7 in the Kentucky Senate. He lost to Aaron Reed 39.3% to 38.3% in the Republican primary.
Gallrein said, "This district is Trump Country. The president doesn't need obstacles in Congress — he needs backup. I'll defeat Thomas Massie, stand shoulder to shoulder with President Trump, and deliver the America First results Kentuckians voted for."[5]
As of Jan. 13, 2026, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rated the general election as Solid Republican. Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball rated the general election as Safe Republican.
Nicole Lee Ethington (R) completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. To read those survey responses, click here.
Elections
2026
See also: Kentucky's 4th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on May 19, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Jesse Brewer, Monica Dean, Elizabeth Mason-Hill, and Melissa Strange are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on May 19, 2026.
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Incumbent Thomas Massie, Nicole Lee Ethington, and Ed Gallrein are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on May 19, 2026.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Robert Wells Jr. (R)
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from RealClearPolitics, when available. We will regularly check for polling aggregation for this race and add polls here once available. To notify us of polls available for this race, please email us.
Campaign spending
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Massie | Republican Party | $1,813,513 | $706,769 | $2,013,753 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Nicole Lee Ethington | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Ed Gallrein | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
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Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[7][8]
If available, satellite spending reports by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and OpenSecrets.org are linked below. FEC links include totals from monthly, quarterly, and semi-annual reports. OpenSecrets.org compiles data from those reports as well as 24- and 48-hour reports from the FEC.[9]
Details about satellite spending of significant amounts and/or reported by media are included below those links. The amounts listed may not represent the total satellite spending in the election. To notify us of additional satellite spending, email us.
| By candidate | By election |
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Endorsements
Gallrein received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
- President Donald Trump (R)
2024
See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Kentucky State Senate District 7
Aaron Reed defeated Rhonda Davis in the general election for Kentucky State Senate District 7 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Aaron Reed (R) | 68.0 | 40,538 |
| Rhonda Davis (D) | 32.0 | 19,112 | ||
| Total votes: 59,650 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Rhonda Davis advanced from the Democratic primary for Kentucky State Senate District 7.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Kentucky State Senate District 7
Aaron Reed defeated Ed Gallrein and incumbent Adrienne Southworth in the Republican primary for Kentucky State Senate District 7 on May 21, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Aaron Reed | 39.3 | 4,826 |
 | Ed Gallrein | 38.3 | 4,708 | |
 | Adrienne Southworth | 22.4 | 2,747 | |
| Total votes: 12,281 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Gallrein in this election.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Ed Gallrein has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Ed Gallrein asking him to fill out the survey. If you are Ed Gallrein, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign advertisements
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2024
Ed Gallrein did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Kentucky Lantern, "Thomas Massie, facing Trump’s opposition, gets a hand from billionaire megadonor," December 9, 2025
- ↑ Truth Social, "@realDonaldTrump on October 17, 2025," accessed on Jnauary 19, 2026
- ↑ [https://www.courier-journal.com/story/News/politics/elections/2025/09/23/donald-trump-thomas-massie-2026-primary-election-challengers/86220098007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z11xx54p115250c115250d00----v11xx54d--53--b--53--&gca-ft=171&gca-ds=sophi Louisville Courier Journal, " As Trump pushes to unseat Massie, why have no challengers entered the race?," accessed September 23, 2025]
- ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "Thomas Massie," accessed January 19, 2026
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lexington Herald Leader, "Who is Ed Gallrein? Trump-endorsed candidate launches run against Thomas Massie," October 21, 2025
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 LinkedIn, "Ed Gallrein," accessed January 19, 2026
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ Amee LaTour, Email correspondence with the Center for Responsive Politics, August 5, 2022
