GOP primary opponent attempts to throw Massie off ballot over ally’s residence

Rep. Thomas Massie is facing a primary candidate who is attempting to throw the Kentucky Republican off the ballot.

A Lewis County circuit court judge is expected to rule Friday on whether Mr. Massie qualifies to be on the primary ballot.

His primary opponent, Eric Deters, claimed in a Feb. 22 suit that one of two witnesses who signed Mr. Massie’s candidate filing did not meet the district’s residency requirements.

According to Mr. Deters’ lawsuit, first reported by Linknky, T.J. Roberts was not residing at the district address he listed on Mr. Massie’s Dec. 18 candidate filing form.

Mr. Roberts’ home on East Bend Road in Burlington was destroyed by fire in early 2023, though it has since been rebuilt.

Mr. Deters says Mr. Roberts’ permanent address was not fully established when he witnessed the candidate’s filing in Frankfort.

Kentucky law requires this filing to be witnessed by two people who live in the same district as the candidate and are registered with the same political party as the candidate.

Mr. Massie responded to Mr. Deters in a Feb. 26 motion, requesting the court rule in his favor, citing sworn testimony from an affidavit given by Mr. Roberts on that day.

In the affidavit, he testified that the East Bend Road address is his permanent address.

“Mr. Roberts testifies that he is a legal permanent resident,” the motion says. “He has been a registered Republican in Kentucky’s Fourth Congressional District (and Kentucky House District 66) since 2017.”

Mr. Roberts states in the motion that he temporarily stayed with his mother at her home in Walton from mid-June to Jan. 10.

He declared that he temporarily resided at an address on Torrid Street in Burlington, which is also within the 4th District and 66th House District, until moving into a rebuilt home at the permanent East Bend Road address on Jan. 11, 2024.

In the motion, Mr. Roberts explains that while he temporarily lived elsewhere in the district while his permanent address was being rebuilt, he returned to that address “every single day in November, December 2023 and January 2024 to check mail, feed the animals (on the property), check on construction progress, and ensure that heat was provided to the residence during cold weather.”

Mr. Roberts says in his motion that he was advised by the Kentucky Secretary of State’s office to list his permanent legal address “and not any temporary address” on the witness signature filing candidate form for Mr. Massie.
The Washington Times reached out to Mr. Deters for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Mr. Massie also filed a motion for sanctions against Mr. Deters, a 2023 gubernatorial candidate, to prohibit him from filing future pro se court action without judicial screening.

According to Mr. Massie’s motion, Mr. Deters has “a history of filing frivolous and self-serving actions” and “his prior history of vexatiously challenging another opponent’s residence.”

Mr. Massie also referenced a 2023 lawsuit, which was ultimately dismissed by a Fayette Circuit County Court judge, in which Mr. Deters challenged the residency of his gubernatorial opponent last year, Kelly Craft.

Christopher WIest, Mr. Massie’s lawyer, told The Washington Times he expects his client to prevail and Mr. Deters, a suspended attorney, to be sanctioned. 

“I think we will get a protective order and an order that Congressman Massie’s filing petition is good,” Mr. Wiest said. “Depending on Deters’ antics in court, there is a chance he could end up in jail for contempt (the judge is no nonsense).”

Mr. Deters appears to be seeking out the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. He organizes a yearly event known as “Freedom Fest” in Northern Kentucky, which has attracted speakers such as Mr. Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump in 2022.

However, the former president withdrew from Mr. Deter’s 2023 “Freedom Fest,” which caused the entire festival to be canceled because of his campaign schedule in Iowa before the presidential caucuses.

Mr. Massie, one of the few House members who endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, says he is still confident he will prevail in court and his primary race.

According to a poll of 300 voters in his district conducted by Up One Insights, on behalf of his campaign, Mr. Massie leads Mr. Deters 70% to 12%.

If Mr. Trump were to endorse Mr. Deters, the poll says, he would still lead Mr. Deters 63% to 22%.

The poll was conducted March 2-4 and voters were interviewed on cell and landline phones. The survey has an error margin of 5.66 percentage points.