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President Donald Trump on Thursday night posted internal Republican polling that indicates Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has lost ground with voters in his district.
The McLaughlin & Associates survey, conducted Aug. 10-12 among 500 likely GOP voters in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, showed Massie’s favorability rating falling from 54 percent in June to 43 percent, while his unfavorable rating rose from 40 percent to 54 percent.
Job approval also slid from 52 percent to 39 percent. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
“MAGA Kentucky’s advertising campaign has turned Thomas Massie’s polling numbers up-side-down, leaving him exposed and extremely vulnerable in a Republican primary election for Congress,” the poll stated.
Massie, in office since 2012, is known for his libertarian views and opposition to large federal spending bills. He was one of two House Republicans to vote against Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the president’s signature legislation in his second term. Trump has since called him “the worst Republican congressman.”
The survey results come after MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC, spent roughly $800,000 on television ads targeting Massie, following a previous $1 million ad campaign. The poll reported that 53% of respondents said they were less likely to support Massie based on recent information they had seen, read, or heard.
Trump’s own favorability and job approval in the district remained high at 85 percent and 87 percent. The poll found that 62 percent of likely GOP primary voters now believe Massie does not support Trump and his policies, compared with 49 percent in June.
The “re-elect” score for Massie dropped from 41 percent in June to 30 percent, which the poll described as a warning sign for incumbents, especially among conservatives, pro-life voters, evangelicals, seniors and voters without a college degree.
Trump has threatened to support a primary challenger against Massie in 2026. Massie, who endorsed Trump last year, has historically faced little electoral trouble, winning the 2024 GOP primary with nearly 76 percent of the vote and the general election with more than 99 percent, with similar results in 2022.