Republican Ed Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL and farmer, is projected to win the race to represent Kentucky's 4th Congressional District, according to Decision Desk HQ. The seat is currently held by Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican who became one of President Trump's most prominent critics within the party.

Gallrein, who earned Trump's endorsement, defeated Democrat Melissa Strange and Libertarian Jeremy Todd. The president had campaigned for Gallrein in the weeks leading up to Election Day.

Gallrein led by 29 percentage points, 59 percent to 30 percent, with a small share of the vote reported by Decision Desk HQ as of 6:20 p.m. EST on Tuesday.

The general election victory caps Gallrein's rise after he defeated Massie in the Republican primary in May, securing the nomination with 54.9 percent of the vote to Massie's 45.1 percent.

Massie had repeatedly clashed with the president. He backed war powers resolutions that would limit Trump's military actions in Iran, spearheaded legislation requiring the Department of Justice to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and opposed GOP-backed spending legislation.

Gallrein, by contrast, has voiced support for advancing many of Trump's priorities, including finishing construction of the border wall, funding Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement and ending what he describes as a "woke" agenda, according to his campaign website.

Speaking to KET last month, Gallrein said his decision to run followed a direct appeal from the president. "When President Trump talked to me back on 17 October in 2025 and told me I needed to serve my district, the party, and my nation again, then I went home, thought about it, prayed on it. He asked me to do that, and then four days later, I declared on 21 October to enter the race," Gallrein said.

Pressed by KET on whether he would pledge blind loyalty to the president if elected, Gallrein said, "What I pledge allegiance to is the Constitution and the Lord."

"If you look at the oath of the congressperson, and then also the officer oath that I took when I joined the military, as I said at 26 years old, there's two things that I swear to: the Constitution and the Lord. Full stop. That's where my loyalty is. And then, furthermore, to the people I serve, I answer to them," he added.