Richmond, VA – House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Loses GOP Primary To Tea Party Challenger

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    Seventh District US Congressional Republican candidate, David Brat displays an immigration mailer by Congressman Eric Cantor during a press conference at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, May 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)Richmond, VA – House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost in his Republican primary election Tuesday to a little-known economics professor, a stunning upset for the GOP’s No. 2 in the House and a major victory for the tea party.

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    Cantor, viewed as a possible successor to House Speaker John Boehner, was taken down by a political novice with little money named Dave Brat. His win marked the biggest triumph this year for tea party supporters who until a few years ago backed Cantor, a former state legislator who rose to Majority Leader in 2011.

    “Obviously we came up short,” Cantor told glum supporters at a suburban Richmond hotel, conceding the race with his wife, Diane, at his side.

    “Serving you as the 7th District congressman and having the privilege of being the majority leader has been the highest honor of my life,” he added.

    Jay S. Poole, a Cantor volunteer, said Brat tapped into widespread frustration among voters about the gridlock in Washington and issues such as immigration. “I can’t tell you how amazing this is to me,” Poole said.

    Much of the campaign centered on immigration, where critics on both sides of the debate have recently taken aim at Cantor. Brat has accused him of being a top cheerleader for “amnesty” for immigrants who are living in the U.S. illegally. Cantor has responded forcefully by boasting in mailers of blocking Senate plans “to give illegal aliens amnesty.”

    It was a change in tone for Cantor, who has repeatedly voiced support for giving citizenship to certain immigrants brought illegally to the country as children. Cantor and House GOP leaders have advocated a step-by-step approach, rather than the comprehensive bill backed by the Senate. They’ve made no move to bring legislation to a vote and appear increasingly unlikely to act this year.

    Brat had been a thorn in Cantor’s side throughout the campaign, casting the congressman as a Washington insider who isn’t conservative enough. Last month, a feisty crowd of Brat supporters booed Cantor in front of his family at a local party convention.

    “If I had my way, I wish everybody in Congress and the Senate would be gone and we would start fresh,” said Brat voter Henry Moriconi, 70, of Henrico County, who expressed frustration that Congress has been unable to confront issues such as the federal deficit.

    Brat, he said, is “the right person for the job.”

    Brat’s supporters gathered Tuesday night in the lobby of a suburban Richmond office park and cheered as the widely unexpected results began to arrive. Brat made the rounds among a crowd of more than 200 people, shaking hands and giving hugs.

    Among those at the party was Floyd Bayne, 57, of Midlothian, who ran against Cantor as an independent in the general election in 2010 and the Republican primary in 2012.

    “I think people are starting to pay attention to voting records instead of rhetoric, and I hope I contributed to that,” Bayne said. Members of Congress, he said, need to “stop talking the talk and walk the walk.”

    Tiffs between the GOP’s establishment and tea party factions have flared in Virginia since tea party favorite Ken Cuccinelli lost last year’s gubernatorial race. Cantor supporters have met with stiff resistance in trying to wrest control of the state party away from tea party enthusiasts, including in the Cantor’s home district.

    Brat teaches at Randolph-Macon College, a small liberal arts school north of Richmond. He raised just over $200,000 for his campaign, while Cantor spent more than $1 million in April and May alone to try to beat back his challenge.

    Washington-based groups also spent heavily in the race. The American Chemistry Council, whose members include many blue chip companies, spent more than $300,000 on TV ads promoting Cantor in the group’s only independent expenditure so far this election year. Political arms of the American College of Radiology, the National Rifle Association and the National Association of Realtors also spent money on ads to promote Cantor.

    Brat offset the cash disadvantage with endorsements from conservative activists like radio host Laura Ingraham and with help from local tea party activists angry at Cantor.

    “Eric Cantor’s loss tonight is an apocalyptic moment for the GOP establishment,” said ForAmerica Chairman Brent Bozell, a conservative leader who advises several tea party groups. “The grassroots is in revolt and marching.”

    Last Saturday, Democrats picked Jack Trammell as their nominee for the general election in the 7th District. He is an associate professor of Sociology at Randolph-Macon College, the same school where Brat teaches.


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    23 Comments
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    hashomer
    hashomer
    9 years ago

    I thought Cantor was the tea party. The GOP is officially in trouble.

    Boochie
    Boochie
    9 years ago

    well make room for another democrat
    the republicans did this to themselves, at the end of the day most of these tea party candidates loose in the general election

    9 years ago

    WOW

    9 years ago

    The world is becoming radicalized pretty rapidly. Not good for The Jews.

    ayinglefunadorf
    ayinglefunadorf
    9 years ago

    Yes, the only jewish congressman in the Republican Party is out. JUDENREIN . The Democrats have 38 jewish congressman. They dont want us. Its sad, but true.

    ayinglefunadorf
    ayinglefunadorf
    9 years ago

    Obama=many many jews in the administration. Democratic Party=37 Jewish congressman. Republican Party= ZERO Jewish Representative. I wonder why?

    PaulinSaudi
    PaulinSaudi
    9 years ago

    It is always good when we change politicians, I say this as a general rule. But this will be bad for the GOP in Virginia. The state is so balanced between a conservative south and a liberal north that a too-conservative candidate might lose the seat.

    9 years ago

    Because he is Jewish.

    RifkaBeth
    RifkaBeth
    9 years ago

    Don’t the tea partiers realize they just handed the election to a Democrat? Cantor would have been a shoe-in in the general election, this guy with no experience doesn’t have a chance.

    9 years ago

    Fewer things are more entertaining than watching Republicans cannibalize each other. As the reality of the demographic shift of this country has started to set in, Republicans are in a permanent state of panic, turning to even more extreme candidates along the way. The mathematically-challenged “unskewed polls” crowd, apparently can’t seem to figure out that you need approximately 50% of the vote to win general elections.

    Remember Queen Baggers Sharron Angle and Christine O’Donnell? What about Indiana’s own King Bagger Richard Murdoch and his soul brother Todd Akin? Oh how quickly they forget.

    But I say, keep it up! Virginia, once the seat of the Confederacy has now become a Purple-Blue state, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a Democrat takes Cantors seat come November.

    zalee
    zalee
    9 years ago

    This is a very bold move by republican voters.

    Cantor, like other establishment republicans, was selling out the party. Amnesty is absolute political suicide for the GOP. The newly minted immigrants will never vote republican.

    The Tea Party is doing nothing other than HOLDING the longstanding conservative position on how the country should be run.

    The idiotic commenters here claiming that the Tea Party is anti-semitic because there are no Jews are completely ignorant. Secular Jews tend to be liberal, and that is the one and only reason for the absence of Jewish Republican representatives.

    InsideOne
    InsideOne
    9 years ago

    Great! That’s one more Democratic seat in the House! Thanks, Tea Partiers – you’re the Democrats’ best friend in politics!

    Tzi_Bar_David
    Tzi_Bar_David
    9 years ago

    This is a deeply red district; the husband of Eva Braun could be running on the Republican ticket and he would win in this district. At least Boehner is relieved to have this knife pulled out of his back.

    jason1974
    jason1974
    9 years ago

    This has nothing to do with Cantor being Jewish. They lost trust in him when he aligned with immigration reform. Its not always about being a Jew.

    Tzi_Bar_David
    Tzi_Bar_David
    9 years ago

    For those claiming antisemitism, Cantor had been elected seven (7) times before from that district. Indeed it’s a district that Cantor himself designed. He obviously made it too conservative for himself.