'Zionists' Didn't Destroy Massie's Political Career-Massie Did

Massie’s popularity rose among non-Republican-leaning voters before his primary defeat, but the outcome was a 10-point loss. His explanation attributes declining support to heavy spending by pro-Israel billionaires. The loss appears instead tied to a mismatch between his priorities and those of typical Republican primary voters. His public persona centers on Israel, the Epstein files, and the deficit. Republican primary voters are favorable toward Israel, align with Trump against efforts using Epstein files, and prefer Trump’s tax cuts, defense and border spending, and deficit-increasing policies over deficit reduction. The primary became a contest between Massie and Trump rather than between Massie and his opponent, leading to support for the candidate backed by Trump and leaving Massie with support in the wrong places.

"Massie's explanation for his sunken popularity with the voters of his own party and his own district is that overwhelming spending from pro-Israel billionaires beat him. Wouldn't he have won if not for them? The mismatch between Massie's priorities and those of the typical Republican primary voter suggest not."

"Massie's public persona over the past year has been defined by his stands on 1) Israel, 2) the Epstein files, and 3) the deficit. Not only are those not the issues that matter most to Republican voters these days, to the extent they do matter all three put Massie on the wrong side of the party's base. GOP primary voters are favorable toward Israel; they side with President Donald Trump over anyone who uses the Epstein files against him; and they support Trump's tax cuts and increased spending on defense and border control over efforts to shrink the deficit."

"These issues together, along with a slew of lesser ones, turned the primary not into a race between Massie and Ed Gallrein but a race between Massie and Trump. This is why Massie began to enjoy strange new respect among establishment liberals, anti-populist libertarians, and even neocons at the Bulwark. They were rooting for Massie to beat Trump."

"Republican primary voters understood the race in the same terms, only they wanted to see Trump win, not lose. So they backed the candidate Trump backed, and Massie lost his primary. His support was in all the wrong places."

Read at The American Conservative