FRANKFORT — A super PAC supporting U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie has won crucial backing from one of the biggest Republican mega-donors — a man who has the wherewithal to offset millions of dollars that Republican President Donald Trump is trying to raise to beat Massie in the spring primary elections.
That man is Jeff Yass, who recently — and indirectly — gave $1 million to a new super PAC that in recent weeks has been advertising in support of Massie’s reelection, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission. Those records show Yass has set aside millions more in what could potentially be used for additional independent spending to help reelect Massie.
Trump recruited and has endorsed Shelbyville Republican Ed Gallrein, a former Navy Seal, to challenge the incumbent Massie who drew the president’s ire by differing with him on several high profile issues and House votes.
Yass is co-founder of the Philadelphia-based trading firm Susquehanna International Group. Bloomberg reports he is worth $63 billion, making him the 27th wealthiest person in the world. Politically conservative with a libertarian streak, Yass has backed Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul since Paul’s failed bid for the 2016 Republican nomination for president. And, according to the campaign finance watchdog group OpenSecrets, Yass has made more than $100 million in contributions to super PACs in the 2023-24 election cycle.
Massie, a Republican from Vanceburg, has won election to the U.S. House in Kentucky’s 4th District by wide margins seven times, but now is a target of the Republican president because he has strayed from the Trump line on several important votes. Most significantly, Massie opposed Trump’s showcase public policy proposal, the Big Beautiful Bill Act, over concerns about the bill’s impact on the national debt. Massie drew widespread media attention over the summer and fall as the key Republican who successfully pushed to force a vote to require the Justice Department to release its records of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump opposed releasing the Epstein files until it became clear Congress would vote for their release.
In June a new anti-Massie super PAC was created by Trump supporters, and it reported quickly raising $2 million that funded a media campaign attacking Massie over the summer.
But reports filed recently with the FEC show that a new super PAC called Kentucky First PAC countered with a pro-Massie advertising campaign in late October.
Those reports show the following steps:
Massie’s campaign declined to comment for this story.
But in an article published by Roll Call on Monday, Massie said he is ready for an onslaught of attack ads from super PACs aligned with Trump.
And he referred to some of the recent activity by super PACs in the campaign.
“The state of play now is that the anti-Massie super PAC has gone dark and has been dark for a few months, and a pro-Massie super PAC is spending a million dollars on ads right now in the congressional district,” Massie told Roll Call.
Gallrein’s campaign on Monday released a two-minute video introducing him to voters as a three-decade Navy SEAL officer and showing him working on his Shelby County farm. It accuses Massie of trying to undermine Trump’s “plan to save America.”
Michael Biundo, the spokesman for Protect Freedom, did not respond to a list of questions sent to him by the Kentucky Lantern.
Deanna Hayes, treasurer for Kentucky First, did not return a phone message.
No one at Susquehanna International Group returned an email seeking comment from Yass about his contribution to Protect Freedom.
Yass may have funded additional support to help Massie through Protect Freedom beyond the $1 million contribution it made to Kentucky First PAC.
Protect Freedom also listed in its recent report to the FEC that it had two major expenses: $508,000 paid to Maverix Media for a media buy and $500,000 for get out the vote efforts. However, the report does not identify the candidate who was supported, or opposed, by that independent spending.
Protect Freedom reports having more than $5 million on hand.
Yass surfaced as a player in elections involving Kentuckians in 2015 when he helped fund super PACs supporting Paul’s presidential bid.
In 2017 he started making regular contributions to the Paul-affiliated Protect Freedom PAC, which initially had several wealthy donors but since 2021 has almost exclusively been funded with contributions from Yass.
In more recent years he has spent millions on independent advertising campaigns on Kentucky elections, including supporting the so-called “school choice” constitutional amendment last year and Republican Daniel Cameron’s 2023 campaign for governor. The school choice amendment was defeated and Cameron lost to incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.