From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Massie says he had to find primary winner ‘in Tel Aviv’ to concede race
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After being defeated in the GOP primary, US House Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky tells supporters that he would’ve announced his concession sooner but he first called his opponent “and it took a while to find Ed Gallrein in Tel Aviv.”
Massie: I would have come out sooner but I had to call my opponent to concede and it took a while to find him in Tel Aviv pic.twitter.com/DmTkDfS17a
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 20, 2026
He also claims in his concession speech that young voters are still on his side.
“People that want somebody that will go along to get along, I’ve never heard of that strategy but that seems to be what the voters want,” Massie says. “But not the young voters.”
The crowd is still energetic despite Massie’s loss, and starts a chant of “No more wars!” that the congressman joins in on. Massie’s speech meanders through different topics and touches on other politicians before another chant start of “America First!”
In a short speech, Gallrein pledges to take the party’s agenda to Washington and work closely with US President Donald Trump. His victory speech lasts around five minutes.
“We have a saying on the family farm that it’s a contact sport,” Gallrein says. “I can tell you that campaigning is one as well folks.”
The Times of Israel Community.