Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL supported by President Trump, is challenging a longtime Republican congressman from Kentucky, Thomas Massie, in a closely watched primary on Tuesday.
Here are five things to know about Mr. Gallrein, 68, of Shelbyville, Ky.
1. He has pledged loyalty to Mr. Trump. Mr. Gallrein’s campaign has centered on his pledge to offer reliable support to the president, offering an alternative to Mr. Massie, a libertarian who has been an outspoken critic of the war with Iran. Mr. Gallrein’s campaign website opens with a video highlighting his endorsement from Mr. Trump. Topping his platform is a pledge that he would fight for Mr. Trump’s agenda. “This is Trump Country,” Mr. Gallrein said in a statement. “It’s time we had a Congressman who acts like it.”
2. He has, in turn, received significant support from the president. In March, Mr. Gallrein appeared with the president at a rally in the district, where Mr. Trump hailed Mr. Gallrein as a “tremendous war hero” with a “big, beautiful brain.” The president joked that he needed only a “warm body” to beat Mr. Massie, but he said that he was supporting a candidate from “central casting.” Representative Andy Barr, a Republican from a neighboring district and a leading Senate candidate, has also backed Mr. Gallrein, saying in a statement that Kentucky needs a “fighter to help President Trump.”
3. He served for three decades in the military. Mr. Gallrein was inspired to join the military by President Ronald Reagan, according to his campaign, and deployed to the Persian Gulf as well as Panama during his time with the Navy, rising to the rank of captain.
4. He is a farmer. Mr. Gallrein is part of a five-generation lineage of farmers who have worked the land in a region south of Cincinnati. His cousin runs Gallrein Farms in Shelbyville.
5. He has run for office before. Though Mr. Gallrein says he was inspired to run for the House by Mr. Massie’s adversarial approach to the president, he also challenged an incumbent Republican state senator, Aaron Reed, in 2024. The race was close. Mr. Reed won by fewer than 200 votes. Mr. Reed recalled that Mr. Gallrein centered farming in his pitch to voters. “It was a good strategy,” Mr. Reed said, though he described Mr. Gallrein as a “political chameleon,” adding that Mr. Gallrein challenged him from the left in 2024. (Mr. Reed said he was neutral in Tuesday’s primary.)
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