Rep. Thomas Massie (R–Ky.) is fighting for his political life. Next week, voters in his district will decide whether to retain the long-serving libertarian Republican—or whether to fall in line with President Donald Trump, who is furious with Massie for opposing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Trump tariffs, and the administration's increasingly neoconservative foreign policy agenda. Trump has endorsed Massie's opponent, Ed Gallrein.
In their quest to unseat Massie, the congressman's enemies have surfaced a desperate, unfair, and vague accusation of personal wrongdoing. Cynthia West, a former girlfriend of Massie, has alleged that he paid her $5,000 in "hush money." That term now appears in countless headlines alongside Massie's name: "Thomas Massie's ex accuses him of hush money offer," writes Axios. Other headlines note that Massie denies the charge. But we know how this game is played: The mere hint of impropriety may very well taint him in the eyes of the voters.
