‘I’m afraid he won’t make it’: How Thomas Massie is handling the toughest election of his career | CNN Politics

Joni Pugh feels like she’s stuck in the middle of a bitter family feud between her president and her congressman. As a loyal Republican, she likes them both – and that is where her predicament begins. No Republican has infuriated President Donald Trump more than Rep. Thomas Massie, which has placed him in a precarious position heading into Tuesday’s Republican primary in Kentucky. The race is already one of the most expensive primary contests ever, with more than $29 million spent on advertising alone, setting up the biggest political test Massie has ever faced. Their long-running duel will be settled by voters like Pugh, who has admired Trump for the last decade and Massie for much longer. “I’m a little more worried than I’ve ever been for him because he’s getting such pushback from Trump,” Pugh said. “I’m not putting Trump down at all because I’m very much a fan of his, but I’m still going to vote for Thomas. He’s a great guy and is very careful about how he wants our taxpayer money to be spent.” Here in northeastern Kentucky, voters say the campaign seems to be getting nastier by the day, with attack ads featuring AI-generated images flooding televisi