Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has overcome a challenge from first time Democratic candidate Alexandra Owensby to retain his seat in Kentucky District 4, according to the Associated Press. Massie has held this seat for seven years.
Massie's win comes despite having earned the ire of President Donald Trump. Earlier this year, Massie voted to force a recorded vote on the CARES Act, the federal stimulus bill passed in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. Massie's vote would have made Congress return to Washington D.C. amidst the pandemic to vote in-person, but his motion failed.
Trump at the time – which happened to be one month before Kentucky's primary election, where Massie faced a challenge from lawyer Todd McMurtry – called him "a third rate Grandstander."
Looks like a third rate Grandstander named @RepThomasMassie, a Congressman from, unfortunately, a truly GREAT State, Kentucky, wants to vote against the new Save Our Workers Bill in Congress. He just wants the publicity. He can’t stop it, only delay, which is both dangerous......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 27, 2020
But Massie still won handily over McMurtry to face Owensby in November.
Owensby is a registered nurse from Ft. Thomas who was registered as politically independent until filing for candidacy to represent the Democratic Party on the ballot. In July she told WVXU she hoped her "moderate" views could court Republican voters displeased with Massie's tenure as representative.
-Additional reporting by Nick Robertson
