Rep. Thomas Massie left supporters talking about a possible 2028 presidential run after conceding defeat on Tuesday night in the Kentucky GOP primary.
While addressing supporters on Tuesday night, Massie was momentarily silenced by chants of “2028” that rang out through the crowd, as supporters openly floated the idea of a White House bid for the libertarian-leaning congressman, who had become one of President Donald Trump’s top political targets.
Advertisement
As one supporter shouted, “Massie for president!” the room erupted in applause.
Massie smiled, laughed, and continued speaking as chants of “2028!” repeatedly interrupted his remarks.
For the next several months, Massie still holds his seat in Congress. But what comes after January is now the bigger question.
Rather than sounding defeated, Massie delivered a message of defiance and optimism.
“What started out as an election turned into a movement,” Massie said. “We stirred up something. There is a yearning in this country for someone who will vote for principles over party.”
The speech immediately fueled speculation about Massie’s future political ambitions, though a presidential campaign remains highly speculative.
Massie’s loss came after Trump and his allies made him a major target, turning the Kentucky race into one of the most expensive House primaries in history.
Advertisement
More than $30 million was reportedly spent on advertising alone.
Even so, Massie framed the defeat as something larger than a failed reelection effort.
“We have to figure out what was the purpose of having the biggest fight ever – the biggest fight ever!” Massie said.
“Why did it converge on one of 435 congressional seats? What was God’s purpose? What was he showing us tonight?”
Speaking on Breitbart, Gruters argued Republicans are entering the midterm cycle with significantly stronger financial positioning and unprecedented coordination across the conservative movement.
Host Mike Slater asked Gruters to put the reported $70 million Democrats spent in Virginia’s recent redistricting battle into perspective.
“How much money is that for the parties?” Slater asked.
Advertisement
Gruters responded by painting a bleak financial picture for Democrats.
“The DNC has minus 4 million [dollars], and it wasn’t the DNC that plowed $70 million: It was the collective,” Gruters said.
“So, if you look at the collective on the right, we may have $800 million,” he continued.
“The collective on the left may have $350 million, and when you have the court, there’s gonna be a court case that is ruled on in the next week or two, coordinated campaign limits, which will magnify that, which will allow full coordination and allow the parties to spend at the candidate rate, which is massive for us,” he said.
Gruters said the financial landscape could mark a historic break from previous election cycles.
“When you have that financial advantage, people, you know, people don’t know that the Democrats routinely spend more than us on election cycles, because they have more massive donors and that will write massive checks,” he said.
“But this time, this cycle [we] will either spend a parity or will outspend them, and that’s never happened before,” he added.
According to Gruters, the RNC itself is in far stronger shape than the Democratic National Committee.
Advertisement
He said the RNC currently has “about $125 million” on hand compared to what he described as negative cash reserves at the DNC.
Gruters also pointed to allied Republican organizations as part of a broader coordinated effort.
“Our Republican National Senatorial Committee, let’s say, has $80 million. House committee has $80 million,” he said.
“Then you have conservative groups out there like MAGA Inc. … you got to think about, we are completely united in our efforts to hold the majority,” he added.
Gruters emphasized close coordination with President Donald Trump’s political operation.
“We coordinate everything with the President, James Blair, Susie Wiles, that team, and we are in unison moving forward to make sure that we’re doing exactly what we need to do to win,” he said.
This article may contain commentary
which reflects the author’s opinion.
