It's a surprisingly large margin in a race that was projected to be close, and given the grassroots excitement the congressman inspired compared to the tepid response Gallrein's campaign consistently received. Suspicions of election chicanery are already circulating. Among those scratching their heads is the pioneer of modern libertarianism, Dr. Ron Paul.

Assuming the election result is legitimate, Massie's loss serves as a reminder that, like their Democratic Party counterparts, the Republican electorate is plagued by lack of knowledge and bad judgment. With overwhelming margins, Kentucky voters sent Massie to Congress seven times before President Donald Trump began campaigning last year to get him fired. Trump has published irate, middle-of-the-night social-media posts painting Massie as a "RINO," Democrat, obstructionist, grandstander, and other unsavory labels. Megadonors such as Miriam Adelson, John Paulson, and Paul Singer invested tens of millions of dollars in anti-Massie ads and Gallrein super PAC money to convince voters of the same. Though Massie is nothing like their labels, the propaganda seems to have worked.

A True Constitutionalist

The Republican platform vows fidelity to individual liberty, fiscal responsibility, limited government, and constitutional principles. Massie has been one of the few lawmakers who has taken these promises seriously, and none of his colleagues from either party has defended the Constitution as fiercely. His voting record proves it; during his 14 years in Congress, he has accrued a lifetime score in The New American's Freedom Index of 99 percent. That's even better than Ron Paul's track record. The libertarian icon amassed a lifetime score of 97 percent. His son, Rand Paul, another constitutional stalwart (and Massie ally), is riding a 96-percent freedom score. As Ron Paul noted Wednesday, in Massie "they've taken somebody who had the best voting record [and] turned him into a monster."

Massie is the kind of ideal legislator the Founders prescribed. He has fought to bring about some semblance of fiscal sanity on Capitol Hill. He built an electronic debt counter and wears it to serve as a reminder of our perilous national debt. And he opposed Trump's war with Iran because the president doesn't have constitutional authority to launch a war without congressional permission. Massie has sponsored or supported legislation to protect privacy and freedom of commerce, to increase overall empowerment of the electorate, and to shutter unconstitutional agencies, including the Department of Education, USAID, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and even the Federal Reserve.