No Bev/Al Tears Over Massie's Defeat

Our friends in Big Media are all excited that President Trump has another scalp attached to his belt – this one that of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky).

But among the bev/al execs we spoke with Tuesday night, there were no tears.

"I saw no evidence that he particularly supported the industry in Kentucky," one told us. He made clear Massie wasn't an active opponent of the industry, it was just that he didn't particularly care.

One particular issue was mentioned to us repeatedly: Massie's opposition to the HALT Drunk Driving Act, which Congress ultimately passed as part of President Biden's infrastructure bill. The bill provided funding for the Transportation Department to help develop ignition interlock technology that would prevent a person with a BAC of 0.08% or higher from starting a motor vehicle.

Development of the technology has been supported by both bev/al execs and groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and for good reason: Despite the progress made against drunk driving, some 12,000 people a year die on U.S. highways because someone made a bad decision and got behind the wheel after drinking too much.

Massie's campaign website perhaps reflected a lack of concern about Kentucky issues. Of the first major issues listed, not one was about Kentucky. Instead he said he was pro-life, defended second amendment rights, was against the government "snooping without a warrant through your difital records and communications,"sought to "fix the broken appropriations process," and to secure our border and build the wall."

He claimed a number of endorsements from conservative groups, including Turning Point Action, Institute for Legislative Analysis, Club for Growth, Conservative Review, Gun Owners of America, and the National Taxpayers Union, and said he fought for local control over AI Data Centers.

Andy Barr Wins GOP Senate Primary

Industry reaction was much more positive to the news that Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) had won the Republican nomination for Mitch McConnell's Senate. He is generally expected to win the November election.

It wasn't just that he opposed passage. Once the HALT Act did pass, he proposed revising the act to prohibit "funds from being used to implement Sec. 24220 of the IIJA, which mandates new vehicles include a kill switch to monitor diver performance and prevent vehicle operation."

He claimed the impaired driver technology would track driver location, monitor driver performance, or enable cars to shut themselves down in the middle of the road. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) called Massie's claims blatantly false and an intentional mischaracterization of the law,”