Ed Galrein, the leading challenger to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), backed by President Donald Trump, raised a staggering $1.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, his campaign announced exclusively to Breitbart News on Friday.
“These fundraising numbers reflect the tremendous support Ed’s campaign has received since its inception,” Gallrein campaign spokesman Lance Trover told Breitbart News. “President Trump has endorsed Ed because he knows Ed is fighting to put America first and will work with him to unleash our economy, cut taxes and stop the woke agenda.”
Galrein, a family farmer and retired U.S. Navy SEAL, entered the race for the Republican Party's congressional nomination in Kentucky's 4th Congressional District in October. Trover told Breitbart News that 99 percent of those donations are for primaries only—candidates can raise money for both the primaries and the general election once they begin, but cannot spend general election money in the primaries—showing the intensity of support among Republicans who want Massie ousted from Congress.
Massie used to be a leading conservative voice in the House, but in recent months and years he has joined Democrats in criticizing Trump and voting against Trump's agenda. For example, Massie was the only House Republican to vote against the One Big Beautiful Bill in the lead-up to its eventual passage. He also joined Democrats in pushing a dismissal petition that Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson initially opposed but ultimately supported, forcing the House to vote on a bill requiring the release of the so-called Epstein files related to the case of late billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. These files are currently in the process of being released as the Department of Justice applies necessary edits to protect victims, and hundreds of thousands of documents have now been released. Massie's attempt to push for this disclosure initially met resistance from senior Republicans like Trump, but when it became clear that the initiative had the necessary level of support to pass in both the House and Senate, they ultimately supported it – and it passed both houses of Congress almost unanimously, and Trump subsequently signed the measure into law.
However, Trump's disappointment with Massey could not be more evident as the President sought to recruit, endorse and help fund the campaign of a qualified challenger, and now he has found that man in Galrein. IN interview on Breitbart news on Saturday In mid-December on SiriusXM's Patriot Channel 125, Galrein told Breitbart News that Massey “sees a problem in every decision.”
“The President laid out his agenda in black and white during the election. The President won every swing state, he won this district almost 70 to 30,” Galrein said of Trump's agenda and Kentucky's 4th Congressional District.
But Massie, he argues, regularly supports Democrats on just about everything these days. “Unfortunately, our voice in Congress in Washington is the voice of the Democratic Party,” Galrein said.
Trump encouraged Galrein to run, giving him full and complete support before he even officially entered the race. In a Truth Social post back in mid-October, Trump encouraged Galrein to enter the race.
“I hope Ed runs against Massie,” Trump wrote in his post. “Unlike 'easy' Massey, the completely ineffective LOSER who has failed us so badly, CAPTAIN ED GALREIN IS A WINNER WHO WILL NOT FAIL YOU. If he decides to challenge Massey, Captain Ed Galrain has my full and complete support. RUN, ED, RUN.”
Galrein's history includes a long tenure as a Navy SEAL officer, serving for three decades in uniform, including several tours with SEAL Team 6, rising to the rank of captain.
Less than a full quarter of the race later, Galrein had successfully raised enough money to give Massey a genuine competitor for the seat. If he keeps this up in the first quarter of 2026 and into the second quarter, there could be some serious trouble brewing here before the May 19 primary.
