By Phillip M. Bailey, Louisville Courier Journal
U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie may be a darling among libertarians and constitutional conservatives, but the Kentucky Republican is the target of some who are actively recruiting a primary challenger for 2020.
Two independent sources with knowledge of campaign discussions say state Rep. Kim Moser, R-Taylor Mill, is being groomed for a possible bid against the congressman, who has gained notoriety for opposing bipartisan measures big and small.
Moser acknowledged in an interview with the Courier Journal that she’s been approached by national party figures about taking on Massie in next year’s Republican primary.
“We land on the same place on some issues, and obviously we’re both very conservative and libertarian-leaning,” she said. “But I would fall more in the pragmatic, solution-oriented camp and that’s always going to be my issue. I think it’s fine to disagree, but I’m always looking for solutions, and that’s not what I see from Congressman Massie.”
Massie represents Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, which spans from parts of Louisville to Ashland, and includes the Cincinnati suburbs in Northern Kentucky, where Moser resides. He brushed aside any concerns when asked about threats of a primary challenge.
“If the Courier Journal knows about a viable plan from the swamp to take me out, please let me know, because I don’t,” Massie said in a statement. “In the meantime, I’ll keep draining it.”
The two sources, who requested anonymity, told the Courier Journal that U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who has made putting more women in Congress a personal passion, was among those looking for a challenger for Massie.
But a Stefanik spokeswoman denied she was dabbling in Bluegrass politics. The spokeswoman said Stefanik’s group, Elevate PAC, “has a firm policy of not recruiting against or endorsing against Republican incumbents.”
Moser declined to comment when asked if Stefanik was among those who had approached her about running next year.
She added that Massie is well liked, but that many constituents want a less ideological representative in Washington.
“Some of the issues that he focuses on really don’t seem to affect the day-to-day lives of the people I work with,” Moser said.
Massie’s notoriety stems largely from being among a handful of House members who vote against various bipartisan measures — Politico has dubbed him “Mr. No” — whether innocuous or consequential.
This year, he was among seven who opposed renaming a post office after the late Rep. Louise Slaughter and about half a dozen who rejected a bill guaranteeing back pay for federal workers hit by the government shutdown this year.
In May, Massie gained national attention for temporarily blocking a $19 billion disaster relief plan before it ultimately passed. He said it was because of “legislative malpractice” by Democratic leaders who failed to have the full House vote on the measure.
“Certainly, it was shocking to me that he was a ‘no’ vote on disaster relief,” Moser said. “We all understand there’s a fiscal reality, but to take that vote seemed harsh.”
Moser also cited Massie being among the 26 members who three years ago voted against the 21st Century CURES Act, which directed $6.3 billion to speed up drug treatment, as one of the troubling things about the congressman’s record.
If Moser were to run, it would set up an interesting primary, pitting Kentucky’s grassroots conservatives against the GOP establishment.
“The tea party folks in the 4th Congressional District understand that Kim Moser is not the constitutional conservative Congressman Thomas Massie is,” said Scott Hofstra, a spokesman for the United Kentucky Tea Party.
Moser serves as chairwoman of the state House Health and Family Services Committee since being elected with help from President Donald Trump’s 2016 tsunami win in the Bluegrass. She is a registered nurse with a specialty in neonatal intensive care and had served as the director for the Northern Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy until 2018.
Massie, who was affiliated with the tea party movement, assumed office in 2012 after winning the Republican primary as the wild-card candidate in a three-way contest. He has easily defeated every Democratic opponent by more than 30 percentage points in the four general elections since.
But there is some speculation that he could be vulnerable in a primary election, especially among disgruntled business-minded Republicans.
Trey Grayson, who had served as president and CEO of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, said bringing back federal resources for infrastructure and other projects is just as important as being an ideological conservative to many in the region.
“I do hear from some folks who would like to have somebody more focused on those kinds of issues,” said Grayson, a former Kentucky secretary of state. “But they also recognize the challenge of defeating an incumbent who is personally well-liked even among those who disagree with certain votes.”
The conservative activists who helped send Massie to Washington seven years ago, however, remain fiercely loyal. They say his stances in Congress are appreciated even it puts him on the outskirts among his own party nationally and Kentucky’s congressional delegation.
“Congressman Massie doesn’t go with the status quo and doesn’t play into party politics,” said Stacie Earl, a Florence conservative activist who ran for state House in 2018. “Republicans have always tried to get someone against him, so hell no I don’t see Moser or anyone is as a credible challenger. Massie isn’t going anywhere.”
Hofstra, the tea party spokesman, said unlike Kentucky’s other Republican congressmen, whom he derided as establishment followers, Massie is willing to break from the herd.
“Congressman Massie is the only representative from Kentucky who is willing to buck his own leadership to support the constitution and the citizens,” he said.
