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Republican Rep. Thomas Massie<\/span> lost his Kentucky primary on Tuesday, handing a victory to the president in a race seen as a referendum on Donald Trump.<\/p>\n It also reaffirmed the grip of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in GOP politics.<\/p>\n AIPAC\u2019s super political action committee and two other groups backed by pro-Israel donors poured more than $15.8 million into the race either opposing Massie<\/a> or supporting his opponent<\/a>, former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, according to Federal Election Commission reports released through Tuesday.<\/p>\n That blizzard of cash may not have been as important for Republican primary voters as Trump\u2019s hatred of Massie. Still, it helped make the 4th Congressional District race the most expensive House primary in history<\/a>, with overall spending reaching $32 million, topping the 2024 New York Democratic primary in which AIPAC\u2019s super PAC aided<\/a> Westchester County Executive George Latimer in ousting then-Rep. Jamaal Bowman.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Massie had framed the race in terms that led to accusations of antisemitism, calling it<\/a> \u201ca referendum on whether Israel gets to buy seats in Congress.\u201d He denied the charge and repeated similar language in his concession speech Tuesday night. \u201cFor 14 years, those S.O.B.s in Washington tried to buy my vote,\u201d Massie said<\/a>. \u201cWhy did the race get so expensive? Because they decided to buy the seat.\u201d<\/p>\n Massie is a libertarian contrarian who reliably votes for the conservative position on measures in the House \u2014 but he has generated headaches for Trump on everything from the Justice Department\u2019s files on Jeffrey Epstein to the NSA\u2019s surveillance of Americans<\/a>.<\/p>\n He has also been a critic of U.S. funding for Israel and the war on Iran<\/a>. His vote has helped make every attempt at blocking the conflict through a war powers resolution bipartisan, although so far all of them have fallen short.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for AIPAC\u2019s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, described<\/a> Massie as \u201cthe most anti-Israel Republican in the House.\u201d<\/p>\n The Kentucky representative says he is taking a stand on principle: He has always opposed foreign aid in general.<\/p>\n \u201cI have never voted for foreign aid to Egypt, to Syria, to Israel or to Ukraine,\u201d Massie told CBS News<\/a>. \u201cBut the ones in Israel, since they\u2019re the biggest recipients of it, that makes them a little bit mad.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Republicans still overwhelmingly support Israel, according to public opinion polls. But the share who do so has declined<\/a> significantly over the last few years, and younger GOP voters are much less supportive<\/a> of unconditional funding for Israel.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n