Thomas Harold Massie (born January 13, 1971) is an American politician and engineer. A member of the Republican Party, Massie has been the United States representative for Kentucky’s 4th congressional district since 2012.
๐ Early Life and Education
Massie was born in Huntington, West Virginia. He was raised in an Appalachian American culture in Vanceburg, Kentucky. His father was a beer distributor.
Massie earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering in 1993 and a Master of Science in mechanical engineering in 1996 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His master’s thesis was titled “Initial haptic explorations with the phantom: virtual touch through point interaction.”
๐ก Engineering and Business Career
In 1993, Massie and his wife founded a company, SensAble Devices Inc., that allowed users to feel digital objects that appeared on a screen. In 1995, Massie won the $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for inventors and the $10,000 David and Lindsay Morgenthaler Grand Prize in the sixth annual MIT $10K Entrepreneurial Business Plan Competition.
In 1996, his company was reincorporated as SensAble Technologies, Inc., after MIT’s Bill Aulet joined him as a partner. He raised $32 million of venture capital, employed 70 people, and obtained 24 patents during his time at the company, which he sold in 2003.
๐ณ๏ธ Political Rise
In 2010, Massie ran for Judge Executive of Lewis County. He won the primary election, defeating the incumbent by a large margin, and then beat the Democratic nominee by nearly 40 points. Massie resigned as Lewis County judge-executive effective July 1, 2012.
On May 22, 2012, Massie won the Republican nomination for Kentucky’s 4th congressional district, beating his closest opponents by a double-digit margin. On November 6, Massie won both the special election and the regular election by a wide margin.
๐ Congressional Voting Record
Through mid-June 2014, Massie had voted “no” at least 324 times in the 113th Congress โ opposing one of every three measures that came to the House floor. Politico named him “Mr. No.” In May 2013, he voted against the Stolen Valor Act of 2013, which passed 390โ3.
In December 2013, he was the only congressman to vote against the Undetectable Firearms Act. In November 2016, he voted against an extension of U.S. sanctions against Iran, the only member of the House to do so. In May 2017, he was the sole House member to vote against sanctions on North Korea.
๐ Foreign Policy Stances
In 2015, Massie was the sole member of the House to vote “present” on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear agreement. In November 2019, he was the sole “no” vote in Congress on the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019.
In July 2019, Massie was the only Republican among 17 members of Congress to vote against a House resolution opposing efforts to boycott Israel and the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement. He was also the sole vote against the Uighur Intervention and Global Humanitarian Unified Response (UIGHUR) Act in December 2019.
๐ Key Votes and Positions
| Year | Issue | Vote/Position | Notable Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Stolen Valor Act | Against | Passed 390โ3 |
| 2013 | Undetectable Firearms Act | Against | Only “no” vote |
| 2015 | Iran Nuclear Agreement | Present | Only “present” vote |
| 2017 | Tax Cuts and Jobs Act | For | Supported to cut taxes |