Here’s the One Tweet That Sums Up Why Thomas Massie Lost His Primary

Massie lost because he went from being perceived as a quirky but lovable nerd who seemed to genuinely believe everything he said, to looking like a clout-chasing influencer who cared more about getting TV time with Democrats on an issue he clearly never cared about until five minutes ago than he did about representing his voters.

We’ll never know what caused the apparent personality change—maybe it was the death of his wife, maybe it was the McCarthy race followed by McCarthy’s ouster, or maybe it was a desire for notoriety or media acclaim and a lucrative podcasting career outside of Congress—but the drastic change was undeniable, as was the seeming lack of interest in much of anything happening in Kentucky.

Blame Trump, blame Israel, blame Epstein, blame the tragic death of a spouse, I don’t care. But you cannot just wave away 2020 Massie going face-to-face with the Trump machine and winning in a rout only to get smoked six years later.