President Trump called for his removal from the Republican Party — but Republicans in his own Northern Kentucky district appear ready to keep Rep. Thomas Massie as their Congressman.
Massie had 88% of the early and unofficial vote, according to election data, which included just in-person votes cast Tuesday.
Those results don't include the thousands of mail-in votes which will be released June 30, according to county clerks.
Despite that, Massie still claimed victory and the Associated Press declared Massie the winner just before 9:30 p.m. McMurtry conceded the race as well. McMurtry told Massie about his decision in person and then announced it in a tweet.
"I didn’t think the mail in ballots were going to make a difference," McMurtry told The Enquirer. He added that he will support Massie in the fall and thanked his supporters.
McMurtry said he would consider running again for some type of public office, because he still has a "desire to help make a difference."
"They want me to come back," Massie told a crowd of his supporters Tuesday at Brickhouse Pub in Florence, Ky.
Massie, a self-described geek, MIT grad, and conservative libertarian has represented Northern Kentucky, home to over 400,000 people, for four terms and is vying for a fifth. But, this election cycle was different for Massie.
The last time Massie had a primary challenger was eight years ago during his first congressional campaign. This cycle, Republican voters in Kentucky's 4th Congressional District had another option: Todd McMurtry. McMurtry is a Covington-based lawyer who represented a student from Covington Catholic in defamation cases against national media outlets.
Massie called McMurtry "the McBurden" Tuesday during his campaign party in Florence.
“We’re going to enjoy the win," he said. "I will have no animosity toward my opponent after tonight."
McMurtry said he would wait for the official results.
Massie had to navigate both the COVID-19 pandemic and attacks from his own president.
In March,Trump called Massie a "third rate Grandstander" over Massie's efforts to force a vote on and fight a $2 trillion coronavirus relief package.
"He is a disaster for America, and for the Great State of Kentucky," Trump tweeted.
Trump even went so far as to tweet: "throw Massie out of Republican Party!"
Trump's disapproval of Massie echoed throughout the campaign. McMurtry used the Twitter attack in an ad to remind voters what the president said about their representative.
So, did Massie, the off-the-grid farmer from Lewis County, survive the blistering tweets from Trump and the Republican challenger who represented one of the Covington Catholic students?
Well, we won't know for sure for at least a week.
The unprecedented Election Day unfolded in the midst of the national pandemic followed a bumpy campaign trail. President Trump called for Massie's removal from the GOP, McMurtry was criticized for offensive tweets and Massie had to explain why a confederate flag once hung in his off-the-grid house in Lewis County.
Voters supported Massie and McMurtry as turnout surged in NKY
Massie hasn't had a competitive race since 2012, when he won his first congressional primary by about 7,000 votes.
There are about 32% more registered Republicans in the district now than there were in 2012, according to voter registration data from the Kentucky Department of Elections.
And, county clerks told The Enquirer that voter turnout in Northern Kentucky, along with the state, is on track to reach a record high for a primary. For example, Campbell County Clerk Jim Luersen said the county stands to more than double a typical primary turnout.
That could partly be because for the first time in state's history, voters had the choice to mail-in their ballots.
On Tuesday, supporters gathered at Massie's campaign office in Florence and mingled while a white board with unofficial results was scrawled on every so often.
"I had to take (McMurtry) seriously," Massie said at his election day gathering in front of a crowd of about 15 people. Since McMurtry was "well funded" and known from the Covington Catholic defamation suit. Massie added that he was able to raise more money in Kentucky than McMurtry did nationally.
According to the most recent campaign finance reports from the Federal Election Commission, Massie raised $1,117,727 and McMurtry raised $205,893.
McMurty told The Enquirer Tuesday that he wanted to win the primary to be a representative that "would be present in the community." On Election Day, he called his supporters to say thank you and grilled bratwursts at his house for his campaign team.
He was eager to see the official results next week, he said.
Voters felt drawn to both candidates Tuesday.
David Hunter, 33, of Florence, has supported Rep. Thomas Massie in every election he's faced. This year was no different.
"I've always been a supporter of Massie," Hunter told The Enquirer. "So I wouldn't have even considered another choice."
McMurtry's campaign resonated with Republican Carlos Rogers, of Bellevue.
"McMurtry seems like a good candidate for today's climate," he told The Enquirer. "I think he'll be able to actually get some things done working with Democrats in Washington while keeping Kentucky number one as his priority."
The Democratic candidates were friendly and posed for a photo together Tuesday.
The Democratic Primary to challenge Massie features Alexandra Owensby, a nurse practitioner from Fort Thomas, and Shannon Fabert, a business consultant from Burlington.
As of 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Owensby had about 60% of the unofficial vote total, according to election data.
They both had pizza Tuesday night to celebrate the end of the primary campaigns. Owensby ate at Fort Thomas Pizza and Fabert made pizzas at her home with her campaign staff..
"We just spent the day really enjoying the district and enjoying the voters," Owensby said.
Both realized they would have to wait until next week, like the rest of Kentucky, to know the official results.
"It's a waiting game," Fabert said.
Julia is the Northern Kentucky government reporter through the Report For America program. Anonymous donors pledged to cover the local donor portion of her grant-funded position with The Enquirer. If you want to support Julia's work, you can donate to her Report For America position at this website or email her editor Carl Weiser at cweiser@cincinna.gannett.com to find out how you can help fund her work.
Do you know something she should know? Send her a note at jfair@enquirer.com and follow her on twitter at @JFair_Reports.
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