Eric Cantor Loses Primary to David Brat; Post-Election Analysis

[Lando Lincoln]

While some are doing handsprings over imaginary things, I think I'll wait to see what this means.  I'll wait until November.

[evadR]

Any population sector that is unfailingly tied to the drug of freebies and big oppressive government is not going to vote GOP, no matter what.

You can take that to the bank.

We can never lose em cause we never had em. And we ain't gonna get em.

[evadR]

While some are doing handsprings over imaginary things, I think I'll wait to see what this means.  I'll wait until November.

Well, one thing you don't have to wait until November for. Amnesty is dead..now!

[truth_seeker]

I haven't seen any comments that Virginia's GOP primary was OPEN, and there was no democrat primary.

Is there just a slight chance democrats voted for Brat, to get him the nomination, so they can defeat him?

In 2012 Cantor won 58 to 41 percent; his worst margin in 7 consecutive wins over his democrat opponents.

Is the democrat opponent known, or yet to be named?

[rangerrebew]

- The Daily Caller - http://dailycaller.com -



Eric Cantor Defeated By Conservative Challenger David Brat

Posted By Alex Pappas On 8:10 PM 06/10/2014 In | No Comments


Call it the political upset of the year.

House majority leader Eric Cantor has been defeated by a little-known conservative challenger in his district’s Republican primary.

David Brat, an economics professor at Randolph-Macon College, won more votes than Cantor on Tuesday in Virginia’s 7th congressional district GOP primary. With almost all votes in, Brat led 56 percent to Cantor’s 44 percent.

“I know there’s a lot of long faces here tonight. And it’s disappointing, sure,” Cantor said to supporters at his election night gathering. “But I believe in this country. I believe there’s opportunity around the next corner for all of us.”

The results have national implications: Cantor was seen as next in line to become speaker of the House. With Cantor not returning to Congress, it will  spark a competitive battle among House Republicans to replace him in the GOP leadership.

“Eric Cantor and I have been through a lot together,” House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement late Tuesday. “He’s a good friend and a great leader, and someone I’ve come to rely upon on a daily basis as we make the tough choices that come with governing. My thoughts are with him and Diana and their kids tonight.”

During his under-funded campaign, Brat made immigration an issue, accusing Cantor of being for “amnesty.”

Radio host Laura Ingraham was among those who endorsed Brat’s campaign because of the immigration debate. Still, Brat’s campaign got little attention ahead of Tuesday’s election from most other media outlets.

 
A Daily Caller poll released Friday indicated Cantor was in trouble: it indicated that Cantor had support from 40 percent of 583 active primary voters to Brat’s 28 percent.

Cantor had a large money advantage heading into the election: Brat raised just $207,000 in comparison to Cantor’s $5.44 million.

Earlier this year, Brat wrote a Daily Caller op-ed titled “Why I want to replace Eric Cantor.”

“Congressman Cantor’s profile has been erratic even by Washington standards — flitting from eager establishmentarian coat-holder to self-glorified ‘Young Gun’ and back again,” Brat wrote. “His loyalties, both upward and downward, have shifted in his eager embrace of the Ruling Class. Washington’s only genuine article of faith: maintaining control regardless of how that control affects the life of the folks back home.”

According to his biography, Brat earned a masters in divinity from Princeton and a Ph.D. in economics from American University. He moved to Henrico, Va. in 1996 to teach economics and ethics at Randolph-Macon College.

Ed Gillespie, Virginia’s Republican Senate nominee, congratulated Brat after the race was called. ”Congrats to @DaveBratVA7th on tonight’s win,” Gillespie wrote on Twitter. “Looking forward to a winning ticket in November!”

Republican Party of Virginia chairman Pat Mullins thanked Cantor for his service. “During his legislative career he has been a tireless advocate for the Commonwealth and his constituents, and I hope he remains a strong and active member of party,” Mullins said.

Cantor has been in Congress since 2001. No sitting House majority leader has lost since 1899.

Brat will face Democrat Jack Trammell, another professor at Randolph Macon College, in November.

Follow Alex on Twitter


Article printed from The Daily Caller: http://dailycaller.com

URL to article: http://dailycaller.com/2014/06/10/eric-cantor-defeated-by-conservative-challenger/

[evadR]

The GOP-e will do everything in their power to defeat Brat in the general election. Count on it.

[evadR]

"In 2012 Cantor won 58 to 41 percent; his worst margin in 7 consecutive wins over his democrat opponents."

In 2012 they hadn't seen what he turned into for 2013/14.

[rangerrebew]

Flashback: Republican Cantor to Headline Anti-Tea Party Conference Sponsored by George Soros & Unions

Posted by Jim Hoft on Tuesday, June 10, 2014, 10:43 PM


This was previously posted on April 9, 2014–
Eric Cantor ought to have some free time in a few months to think about this.

Eric Cantor Gives Speech On Value Of School Choice
Majority Leader Eric Cantor

So what’s this all about?
 Conservative writer and activist Brent Bozell, the founder and president of the Media Research Center, sent this letter to Majority Leader Eric Cantor on his decision to headline an anti-Tea Party event this weekend in Florida.


Dear Majority Leader Cantor:

Conservative leaders were stunned to learn that you will be headlining a conference in Florida this weekend that is, purely and simply, a direct attack on Tea Party conservatives. Worse still, this event is sponsored in part by ultra-liberal financier/activist George Soros and organized labor – both of which have openly, repeatedly – and often viciously – waged war on conservatives and Republicans for years.

What has possessed you to headline this event? Do you think so little of conservatives that you would directly insult them by attending?

Since Mitt Romney’s defeat in the 2012 presidential election a substantial rift has opened between the GOP’s congressional leadership and rank-and-file Republicans, grassroots conservatives and Tea Party supporters – the very activists who provided the energy, enthusiasm and mobilization that fueled the historic Republican victory in 2010 and gave you and your colleagues the House majority you hold today. You would not be Majority Leader today but for Tea Party conservatives. And you’re headlining an event sponsored by a leftist organization committed to its destruction.

As we head in to midterm elections later this year, it would seem incumbent upon Republican leaders to do everything they can to actually heal this rift. Instead you are widening it further.

It is our understanding that Speaker John Boehner had planned to attend but is no longer doing so. We expect no less from you. Attending this event shows you are siding with the Democrat donors, unions, and other Soros-backed groups who have contributed over $1 million to attack conservatives.

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/06/republican-cantor-to-headline-anti-tea-party-conference-sponsored-by-george-soros-unions/

[mystery-ak]

http://www.nationalreview.com/node/380067/print

 NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE         

June 10, 2014 10:43 PM
Eric Cantor's Defeat: Winners and Losers
By Joel Gehrke

In no particular order.

Winners:

1) Dave Brat, the college professor and political novice who pulled off the first primary upset of a House majority leader since 1899.

2) Tea-party activists nationwide, whose efforts to move Republican-party leaders to the right received a morale boost and a fundraising hook.

3) Conservative talk-radio host Laura Ingraham, who supported Brat when most political types assumed Cantor would roll to another victory.

5) Representative Jeb Hensarling (R., Texas), whose chances of succeeding House speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) just got a whole lot better.

6) Representative Peter Roskam (R., Kan.), who has a solid chance of replacing Representative Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) as whip if McCarthy takes Cantor’s job.

Losers:

1) House majority leader Eric Cantor (R., Va.) who was on the wrong end of a historic defeat.

2) Any pundit who said the Tea Party is dead.

3) Comprehensive-immigration-reform proponents.

4) Representative Bob Goodlatte, the Virginia Republican tasked with managing immigration bills at the Judiciary Committee level.

5) Republican incumbents everywhere, who have just been reminded that every primary is a dangerous challenge.

[GourmetDan]

Cantor going down was a pleasant surprise for me.

Another 'immigration-reform now' candidate bites the dust!

[mystery-ak]

http://www.nationalreview.com/node/380057/print

 NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE         

June 10, 2014 9:32 PM
Looking Back at the Tea Leaves on Cantor
By John Fund

Eric Cantor’s loss is historic. No sitting House majority leader has lost an election since the office was created in 1899. While Cantor’s loss was a stunning surprise, the warning signals were around for a while:

1. Cantor managed to muddle his message on immigration. His direct-mail pieces claimed he was foursquare against amnesty. But the newspapers covering Washington, D.C., quoted him as saying he was seeking a compromise with President Obama on immigration. Voters resolved the seeming contradiction by deciding to vote out their establishment congressman. Cantor’s loss destroys any chance of a comprehensive immigration bill passing the House this year.

2. The majority leader outspent his opponent, David Brat, by $2.5 million to $40,000. Much of that money went to negative ads against Brat that turned off voters and were so vitriolic as not to be credible.

3. Cantor was also hurt by a subterranean campaign by Democrats to convince their supporters to vote in the Republican primary against Cantor. Apparently, some of them did.

4. Many constituents of Eric Cantor felt he had ignored them for years, rarely returning home and often ignoring them on key issues ranging from expanding Medicare prescription-drug benefits to TARP bank bailouts. The frustration boiled over at a May party meeting in his district, where Cantor was booed and his ally was ousted from his post as local party chair by a tea-party insurgent. “He did one thing in Washington and then tried to confuse us as to what he did when he came back to his district,” one Republican primary voter told me.

And, looking forward:

5. In theory, Cantor could run as a write-in candidate in the November election, but that is highly unlikely. A divided GOP vote could elect a Democrat in a district where President Obama won 43 percent of the vote in 2012.

6. The House Republican Caucus has experienced an earthquake. Regardless of John Boehner’s decision on whether to remaining speaker, there will now be a new majority leader. Early contenders for the post are House Financial Services Committee chairman Jeb Hensarling and House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan. Both men are more conservative at their core than Cantor, who often made colleagues think he was a conservative of convenience rather than conviction.

Primaries are often criticized for low voter turnout. But they are also expressions of the grassroots sentiments of political parties. The lesson tonight is that establishment candidates ignore their most ardent voters at their peril. As political analyst Stuart Rothenberg put it tonight: “The GOP establishment’s problem isn’t with the Tea Party. It’s with Republican voters.”

[mystery-ak]

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/06/10/White-House-Cantor-Lost-Because-He-Wasn-t-More-Pro-Amnesty

 by Tony Lee 11 Jun 2014, 2:49 AM PDT

As soon as House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) stunningly lost his primary to Dave Brat on Tuesday, the White House proclaimed that Cantor lost his race because he wasn't pro-amnesty enough.

White House Senior Adviser Dan Pfeiffer said Cantor's "problem wasn't his position on immigration reform," bur rather "his lack of a position."

    Cantor's problem wasn't his position on immigration reform, it was his lack of a position. Graham wrote and passed a bill and is winning big
    — Dan Pfeiffer (@pfeiffer44) June 11, 2014

Though Cantor concealed his support for amnesty and more guest-worker visas for illegal immigrants and sent out deceptive anti-amnesty mailers to voters in his district, Brat made Cantor's past support for amnesty the central issue of the campaign in the final month. Brat started to surge in the polls after he started hammering Cantor on the issue.

"The central policy issue in this race has become Cantor’s absolute determination to pass an amnesty bill. Cantor is the No. 1 cheerleader in Congress for amnesty," Brat wrote in an op-ed for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "This is not the Republican way to fix our economy and labor markets."

And when illegal immigrant children started to flood across the border in the last few weeks, Brat pointed out that they were coming to America in part because Cantor said one of the "great founding principles" of the nation was giving amnesty to the children of illegal immigrants to not penalize them for the mistakes of their parents. Brat said Cantor's comments represented "one of the most radical pro-amnesty statements ever delivered by a sitting representative."

The White House wanted to partner with Cantor to pass various amnesty bills. In fact, the Friday before the primary, Cantor, in the midst of the current illegal immigration crisis, said that he would be willing to work with Obama to give amnesty to the children of illegal immigrants in an interview on a local television station.

[mystery-ak]

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/06/11/Jews-Wrestle-with-Cantor-Defeat

 by Joel B. Pollak 11 Jun 2014, 5:09 AM PDT

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who lost his Republican congressional primary to Tea Party-backed Dave Brat in a shocking landslide Tuesday, is the highest-ranking Jew in the history of the U.S. Congress. As news of Cantor's defeat spread, Jews on both sides of the aisle wrestled with what his defeat meant for American Jews in politics--and for Republican Jews in particular, who had long seen Cantor as a champion for their cause.

"We are disappointed that our friend Eric Cantor lost his primary race tonight, but we are proud of his many, many accomplishments in Congress," said Republican Jewish Coalition executive director Matt Brooks in a somewhat grim press statement Tuesday evening. "Eric has been an important pro-Israel voice in the House and a leader on security issues...We are proud to have worked with Eric Cantor for the last 14 years."

Indeed, Cantor and his wife were prominent guests of honor at RJC events--not just high-dollar leadership meet ins, but also at local chapters across the country. In 2010, hundreds of Jewish Republicans packed a standing-room-only ballroom in suburban Chicago to hear Cantor speak in the run-up to the midterm elections that year, which swept Cantor and his party into power in the House of Representatives on a wave of Tea Party support.

Though Cantor has never made his religious identity as central to his persona as did former Democrat Sen. Joseph Lieberman--another prominent Jewish politician defeated by his own party in a midterm primary--he was proud to identify as a Jew. He promoted Jewish political candidates, such as Ohio treasurer Josh Mandel, and referred to his Judaism in explaining some of his positions, including his support for immigration reform.

It was that push for immigration reform, despite of a deeply flawed "comprehensive" bill in the Senate and a growing crisis at the border, that cost Cantor his seat to Brat's "anti-amnesty" campaign.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee gloated over Cantor's defeat "by the Tea Party base that he's kowtowed to at every turn," and some Democrats claimed that the Tea Party had rejected Cantor because of his Judaism.

It is a claim undermined by the fact that Cantor helped inspire the Tea Party's birth in 2009 by whipping the Republican minority against the $862 billion stimulus, and by the fact that some Tea Party conservatives had supported him as an alternative to Speaker of the House John Boehner in January 2013. At least one of Cantor's most prominent critics, talk radio host Mark Levin, is Jewish--and enthusiastically backed Brat's campaign.

On social media, some Tea Party-aligned Jews were exultant at Cantor's defeat: "Just so everyone knows .... I am Jewish .... and I am more than tickled pink that Cantor Lost," tweeted Floridian Errol Phillips, whose profile describes him as a "Tea Party Conservative." Others disagreed: "they [Tea Party] are not a party welcome to Jews," tweeted Jacob Kornbluh, a conservative political activist and religious Jew from Brooklyn, New York.

Cantor's departure from Congress next year also means that the pro-Israel community will lose one of its best allies on Capitol Hill. However, the issue did not come up in the primary campaign. Brat's website does not mention Israel, yet calls for a strong foreign policy: "We must secure our borders, support the Armed Forces, both at home and abroad, and maintain a strong national defense in order to secure our country’s future."

Arguably, Lieberman's loss in 2006 had far more to do with nascent anti-Israel tendencies among Democrats than Cantor's loss in 2014 has to do with any such feeling among Republicans. Anti-war Democrats routinely cast Lieberman as a traitor to the party--and the country--because of his support for the Iraq War and George W. Bush's war on terror, which some on the left characterized as a surreptitious campaign on Israel's behalf. Cantor's defeat was more unexpected than Lieberman's, and less connected to his personal identity.

On Tuesday evening, some Cantor supporters discussed a Lieberman-style comeback, perhaps a write-in effort like that which Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski used in 2010 after her primary loss. Such an effort is unlikely. Yet--thanks in part to Cantor's efforts--there are several Jewish Republican candidates eager to pick up where he left off.

[Rivergirl]

It is becoming more and more apparent that everyone in our white house is using mind altering drugs.
And that includes the person occupying the oval office.   Unstable at any speed.

[Relic]

Republicans were counting on winning in November by simply not being Democrats. It's not going to work.

The caricature of Republicans as bumbling, and beholden to special interests is facilitated by politicians such as Cantor. They say one thing, do another, and don't produce anything resembling vision, or a coherent plan.

Don't weep for Cantor, the political elite take care of their own.

[Rivergirl]

Cantor was for allowing illegals to enlist in our military.  At this time the Pentagon is discharging our troops and this idiot wanted illegals to be permitted to join????  In the name of WHAT?????

That was just another reason for Cantor to be kicked out of the congress.

Next we need to get rid of Ryan who thinks the poor illegals need to be able to come out of the shadows.  Oh really????

And now we have Rand Paul joining Bloomberg in an effort to facilitate immigration 'reform'.

[rb224315]

White House Senior Adviser Dan Pfeiffer said . . .

Dan Pfeiffer is the biggest liar and the most hyper-partisan person in the administration.  That's saying a lot, yes, when the other contenders are the Obamas, Hillary, John F'n Kerry, Ben Rhodes, Stephanie Cutter, Susan Rice, etc.  But I believe it's true.

Between his partisanship and disrespect for the truth I wouldn't expect Pfeiffer to say anything other than what he spewed.  He will say whatever is necessary to further the cause.

[GourmetDan]

Others disagreed: "they [Tea Party] are not a party welcome to Jews," tweeted Jacob Kornbluh, a conservative political activist and religious Jew from Brooklyn, New York.

Funny how some people try to make it strictly an anti-Jew thing.

Here's a clue for Mr. Kornbluh... it's not your past or heritage, it's your behavior in the here and now.

Start working to strengthen this country and increase individual liberty and we won't care if you're a Klingon...

[GourmetDan]

As soon as House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) stunningly lost his primary to Dave Brat on Tuesday, the White House proclaimed that Cantor lost his race because he wasn't pro-amnesty enough.

Good to see the WH hold their line.

Hopefully, all the Rat candidates will believe this and run on it...

[Relic]

It is becoming more and more apparent that everyone in our white house is using mind altering drugs.
And that includes the person occupying the oval office.   Unstable at any speed.

I can't imagine what it would do to you to be in their position. The WH can issue any statement, and regardless of how stupid, or unbelievable the statement is, the msm will massage it, spin it, and sell it to the people as fact.

The people generally buy what the msm is selling.

[mystery-ak]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/pelosi-eric-cantor-david-brat

 Daniel Strauss – June 10, 2014, 10:56 PM EDT

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) argued that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's (R-VA) loss to a little-known primary challenger showed that it's a "whole new ballgame" in the 2014 midterm elections.

Here's Pelosi's statement below:

    The American people should take notice. Tonight, the Tea Party defeated Republican Leader Eric Cantor who is one of the most extreme Members of Congress.

    Eric Cantor has long been the face of House Republicans’ extreme policies, debilitating dysfunction and manufactured crises. Tonight, is a major victory for the Tea Party as they yet again pull the Republican Party further to the radical right.

    As far as the midterms elections are concerned, it’s a whole new ballgame.

[Relic]

The Hispanics are already opposed to the GOP.  We can't win presidential elections with less than 30% of Hispanic support. 

We won't get anywhere close to that in 2016.  So all those Mormon-hating archconservatives better get off their double-wide asses and vote for the Republican nominee.

Wait... what? So, when did you join the Democrat party?

Or, are you just a little emotional over Cantor's loss?

[Oceander]

nothing like a little xenophobia to "spice" up a conversation

[Relic]

nothing like a little xenophobia to "spice" up a conversation

Anti amnesty is xenophobia?

[mystery-ak]

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/208956-rep-becerra-still-confident-immigration-reform-doable

June 11, 2014, 08:21 am
Becerra: Cantor loss won't kill immigration

By Rebecca Shabad

Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) on Wednesday said he’s still confident Congress will pass immigration reform despite House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-Va.) primary loss.

“I think people made a big mistake that they confuse the result in Eric’s race with getting immigration reform done. The question for immigration reform is not if it’s going to get done, it’s when we’re going to get it done. It’s going to get done,” Becerra said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

After Cantor’s shocking upset Tuesday night, many analysts predicted prospects for reform are dead in the near future. Cantor had authored a bill similar to the DREAM Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for children who came to the United States illegally.

“I believe what we’re hearing here is a message: get your work done,” Becerra said of Cantor’s loss. “The longer they let this simmer, the worse it will get in their party.”

Majorities of Republicans throughout the country support immigration reform, Becerra said, as do most Republicans in the House.

“For Republicans in the House, my sense is they’re now squeezed between doing things the Tea Party way and doing things the American way. They’re going to find it’s a lot harder to do things the Tea Party way.”

At the same time, Becerra realizes establishment Republicans are in a bind.

“You can’t outright the far right and maybe Eric’s loss is a message of that.”