By Anthony Cacciato
Last Tuesday, the most expensive congressional primary in history came to a close, with over $32 million spent to unseat incumbent Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY). Ed Gallrein (R-KY), a previously unknown and still opaque candidate supported by President Donald Trump (R-FL), has become the Republican nominee in the district, with no clear policy beyond blind support for the President.
At a time where the national party has continued to go astray from its core principles of limited government, free markets, and responsible foreign policy, voters were duped into rejecting one of the few men who still held true to those values.
Massie represented one of the few instances in the modern GOP where an elected representative held true to the values that our party purports to stand for. Despite Republican wins at the federal level, we have consistently seen Congress buck the values that it claims to stand for by continuing to expand our national debt, stand by during an unauthorized and unwanted foreign conflict, and ending reckless doling out of foreign aid.
Massie understands that as Republicans, we are charged with holding ourselves accountable to those values, especially under immense pressure. In his 14 years as a member of Congress, his libertarian positioning made him the rare and necessary voice to stand up when it was necessary, be it pushing back against reckless spending during COVID or demanding transparency and accountability from our government.
It is a bitter irony that his replacement in Congress, Ed Gallrein, will blindly buck principle when he is told. It is yet another sign of a failure on the part of Congress to take on its constitutional duty to be a check on the executive and govern based on constitutional principles, not executive or party dictates. Thomas Massie’s loss in this primary is a loss not only for Republicans, but for America.
Beyond its significance as one of the most expensive and important primaries of all time, it is also notable for the stark generational contrast which was displayed during the race. In the lead up to primary day, Massie showed a commanding lead with young voters between 18 and 29 and also holding majority support with voters under 65. On the contrary, voters over 65 broke heavily for Gallrein.
Ultimately, it was clear both at the polls and in the results on May 19 that Boomers came out in droves against insufficient youth turnout, handing the election to Gallrein.
The results of this election spell out a clear message: when young people fail to show up, older voters dictate the terms of politics, and young people will be faced with the consequences of those policies.
Young people, not Boomers, face the consequences of reckless spending which runs up the national debt, leaving us to foot the bill when our nation defaults.
Young people, not Boomers, face the consequences of reflexive opposition to building more housing, causing home ownership to become a distant hope for young Americans. If young Americans choose to stay on the sidelines due to apathy or cynicism, we will continue to give way to policies and politicians which actively work against our interest.
In his concession speech, Massie said, “we have the younger demographic…we started out as an election, and it turned into a movement.”
Thomas Massie, much like Ron Paul (R-TX) before him, ignited and mobilized a generation of young Americans passionate about returning to our principles as a nation and holding our elected officials accountable. As young Republicans, it is now contingent upon us to take that movement and actively work to shape our party going forward. We are the generation which will hold the party to account on issues like fiscal restraint, limited government, and putting America first.
At our nation’s 250th Anniversary, it is more important than ever to rededicate ourselves to this cause. Our nation’s future depends on it.
Anthony Cacciato serves as New York State Chair for Young Americans for Liberty, an organization dedicated to defending individual liberties and economic freedom. He is a proud Huntington resident and Carnegie Mellon University alumni.
