Tea party candidate Thomas Massie has won the GOP nomination in Kentucky’s Fourth Congressional District.Massie has the backing of many national tea party groups and of U.S. Senator Rand Paul. The Lewis County Judge-Executive gathered just under half of the vote in a seven person primary, greatly out-distancing his two closest contenders.Massie campaign manager Ryan Hogan says the victory is shows the tea party is still alive in Kentucky.“I think it was a very good win for not only the tea party but for small government, fiscally conservative Republicans here in the Fourth District,” Hogan says.Hogan says Massie campaigned on issues similar to those of Paul, and once again they proved to be winning messages.“I think that’s kind of indicative of what Kentucky has been looking for. And the people of the Fourth District and the people of the Commonwealth have embraced that. And we look to move forward to that and continue to spread that message,” he says.Massie will face off against Democrat Bill Adkins this fall. But Massie is likely to be the next congressman, because the Fourth District usually votes Republican.