Report from NPR by SCOTT NEUMAN June 10, 2014 8:09 PM ET
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has lost his Republican primary in Virginia's 7th Congressional District to Tea Party challenger David Brat — a stunning defeat that will upend the chamber's GOP leadership.
Brat, an economics professor at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va., was leading Cantor by 55 percent to 44 percent of the vote.
"I know there's a lot of long faces here tonight, and it's disappointing, sure," Cantor said, speaking to supporters. "I believe in this country; I believe there's opportunity around the next corner for all of us."
Tea Party-backed David Brat, an economics professor at Randolph-Macon College, has defeated House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in his Virginia Republican primary.i Tea Party-backed David Brat, an economics professor at Randolph-Macon College, has defeated House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in his Virginia Republican primary.
Steve Helber/AP NPR's Ron Elving calls the defeat of Cantor, who was widely expected to eventually replace House Speaker John Boehner, "Truly stunning and all but unprecedented for a speaker-in-waiting."
Politico says that Brat tapped into "strong anti-incumbent fever that has taken over Cantor's Richmond-area district."
Although Cantor is a conservative and has been close to the Tea Party, "in the past two years they've been angered by his shift to support for some kind of immigration reform. Brat made that an issue, saying Cantor was no longer a real conservative," NPR's Don Gonyea says.
Even so, "Going into the elections, most Republicans had been watching for how broad Mr. Cantor's victory would be, with almost no one predicting that he would lose," The New York Times says.
The Washington Post, in an article earlier Tuesday, said Cantor was expected to prevail but acknowledged that Brat had "exposed discontent with Cantor in the solidly Republican, suburban Richmond 7th Congressional District by attacking the lawmaker on his votes to raise the debt ceiling and end the government shutdown, as well as his support for some immigration reforms."
Reuters says Cantor, the No. 2 in the House, heavily outspent his opponent, who managed to raise just over $200,000 for his campaign, according to his most recent campaign finance reports.
The Associated Press says:
"[Cantor's] loss to Dave Brat, a political novice with little money, marks a huge victory for the Tea Party movement, which supported Cantor just a few years ago. "Brat had been a thorn in Cantor's side on the campaign. ... Last month, a feisty crowd of Brat supporters booed Cantor in front of his family at a local party convention." The Hill calls Cantor's defeat "perhaps the most significant jolt to the Republican establishment since the emergence of the Tea Party in 2009":
"While conservative activists have ousted veteran Republicans like Sens. Bob Bennett (Utah) and Richard Lugar (Ind.), a sitting majority leader has never been defeated in a primary election. "As recently as Friday, Cantor and his team in Virginia projected confidence. " 'I'm just not worried,' Cantor's Richmond-based political adviser, Ray Allen, told The Hill. Cantor's own polling showed him with a comfortable lead. "Brat told The Hill he was 'peaking at exactly the right time.' "
George Amedore & Christian Klueg for NYS Senate 2016 Pete Vroman for State Assembly 2016[/size][/color]
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground." Lyndon Baines Johnson
Old news DV. People do NOT need you to copy and paste things that we can read in the newspaper or online or watch the report on TV or radio.
What'[s the matter, DV, you can't talk on local issues anymore? You are avoiding posting on all the MASSIVE FAILURE in Schenectady and it's too embarrassing?
We are quit capable of reading the news without you posting it.
How about those taxes in Schenectady (city) that you claim are lower now that 10 years ago, what's the matte, you claimed it's the FACT but you can't copy and paste anything that proves it's a fact?
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
You have to love how the media tries to spin things.
Dave Brat a 'Tea Party' favorite?.....Hardly, they blew this guy off.
From the NYSlimes...
Quoted Text
A Long Shot So Long, the Tea Party Took a Pass
David Brat Waged Solo Fight Against Eric Cantor
WASHINGTON — David Brat, the man who derailed Representative Eric Cantor’s congressional career and aspirations to become speaker of the House, faced such long odds in his challenge to the No. 2 House Republican that he failed to win the backing of any of the major Tea Party groups that inspired his candidacy.
“I met with all of them,” Mr. Brat said in a February interview with The New York Times. “But it’s tough. Everybody just wants to see the polls, how much money you’ve raised. But they do not know what’s going on on the ground.”
His relative anonymity outside Henrico, the swing-voting Virginia county that encompasses the suburbs north of Richmond, probably contributed to the difficulty Mr. Brat had in rounding up conservative support despite meeting with powerful groups and donors to try to persuade them that he was worth the investment.
Despite running a decidedly anti-establishment campaign in which he criticized government bailouts and budget deals and frequently invoked God and the Constitution, Mr. Brat was unable to secure the endorsement of Tea Party groups with national networks, a sign of how under the radar his candidacy was. With FreedomWorks, Tea Party Express and Tea Party Patriots all staying out of the race, Mr. Brat raised just over $200,000.
Cantor raised over $2.5M
"Approval ratings go up and down for various reasons... An example is the high post 911 support for GWB even though he could be said to be responsible for the event." --- Box A Rox '9/11 Truther'
Melania is a bimbo... she is there to look at, not to listen to. --- Box A Rox and his 'War on Women'
Mr. Brat was unable to secure the endorsement of Tea Party groups with national networks, a sign of how under the radar his candidacy was. With FreedomWorks, Tea Party Express and Tea Party Patriots all staying out of the race, Mr. Brat raised just over $200,000.
That's what makes it more impressive. Those 3 "tea party" groups listed in the article are just GOP front groups. They only support "tea party" candidates that are GOP puppets disguised with the Tea Party brand.
sh*t, I questioned if he was a true outsider. If those faux tea party front groups would not fund him, then he actually may be.
Brat had the support of local TeaBaggers in VA. I know a Tea Bagger who's TeaParty Patriots supported this candidate with overpass weekend promotions.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
Brat had the support of local TeaBaggers in VA. I know a Tea Bagger who's TeaParty Patriots supported this candidate with overpass weekend promotions.
Proof or it didn't happen
"Approval ratings go up and down for various reasons... An example is the high post 911 support for GWB even though he could be said to be responsible for the event." --- Box A Rox '9/11 Truther'
Melania is a bimbo... she is there to look at, not to listen to. --- Box A Rox and his 'War on Women'
AP sources: Cantor plans to resign from leadership AP | By DAVID ESPO Published June 11, 2014 02:35PM EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Repudiated at the polls, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor intends to resign his leadership post, officials said Wednesday, clearing the way for a potentially disruptive Republican shake-up a few months before midterm elections with control of Congress at stake.
Cantor, R-Va., was expected to make a formal announcement of his plans at a late-afternoon meeting of the party's rank and file, less than 24 hours after he lost a primary to a little-known and underfunded rival backed by tea party groups.
Even before his announcement, jockeying broke out among fellow Republicans eager to move up the House leadership ladder — or establish a foothold on it.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the party whip and third-ranking leader, informed fellow Republicans he intended to run to succeed Cantor, officials said, and Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas also made clear his interest.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., was hoping to replace McCarthy in his current spot, the officials said.
Cantor's office declined to confirm his decision, which was reported by numerous Republican aides as well as lobbyists who said they had been informed of the plans.
The resignation would mark a swift end to a quick rise to power for Cantor, 51, who was elected to Congress in 2000, was appointed to the leadership two years later, and then rose steadily to become the second-most powerful Republican in the House. In that post, he was the most powerful Jewish Republican in Congress, and occasionally was seen as a potential rival to Speaker John Boehner but more often as a likely successor.
He was defeated Tuesday by primary rival David Brat, an economics professor making his first run for office in an underfunded campaign that benefited from the support of tea party groups.
Brat campaigned as a foe of immigration legislation, and said Cantor was likely to help immigrants living in the United States illegally gain amnesty if given a new term in the House.
Interviewed on MSNBC, Brat declined to spell out any policy specifics.
"I'm a Ph.D. in economics, and so you analyze every situation uniquely," he said.
Brat begins the fall campaign as a decided favorite in the race against Democratic rival Jack Trammell in a solidly Republican Richmond-area district.
His primary triumph was by far the biggest of the 2014 campaign season for tea party forces, although last week they forced veteran Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran into a June 24 runoff and they hope state Sen. Chris McDaniel will achieve victory then.
Tuesday's outcome may well mark the end of Cantor's political career, although at his age he has plenty of time to attempt a comeback.
The impact of Cantor's surprise loss on the fate of immigration legislation in the current Congress seemed clear. Conservatives will now be emboldened in their opposition to legislation to create a path to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally, and party leaders who are sympathetic to such legislation will likely be less willing to try.
Cantor has compiled a solidly conservative voting record in his tenure, but he was sometimes viewed with suspicion by tea party activists who said he had been in Congress too long and was insufficiently committed to blocking immigration legislation. Many party officials argue that Republicans must temper their hard line on immigration if they are to compete effectively in future presidential elections.
One Republican said he feared the effects of Cantor's defeat could be debilitating for the party.
Interviewed on MSNBC, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said he was worried that the result of Cantor's stunning loss may be even more congressional gridlock. Asked if he thought immigration legislation was dead, he replied, "I'm concerned that Ted Cruz supporters, Rand Paul supporters, are going to use this as an excuse" to shut down the government.
"This is not conservatism to me," King said. "Shutting down the government is not being conservative."
_____ Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor and Alan Fram contributed to this report.
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
Some are saying this was due to immigration. While others say that it had to do with Cantor being too focused on being Majority Leader and not enough on representing the 7th District of Virginia. Personally, I think Cantor was a good Majority Leader who was trying to find ways to reach agreement on key issues and break the gridlock.
George Amedore & Christian Klueg for NYS Senate 2016 Pete Vroman for State Assembly 2016[/size][/color]
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground." Lyndon Baines Johnson
PROOF OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN??? LMAO! As if I have to PROVE anything to you BUCKY BOY! LMAO!
Just to show what a total asshat you are... I will give you the person and his story. Maybe you know him also. His name is SZABO. He was a TeaBagger organizer in the Fulton County TeaBagger Patriots, before moving to Virginia. His little band of TeaBaggers led a campaign against Tonko in 2010 which failed miserably. See his moment of fame in the Leader Herald: http://www.leaderherald.com/page/content.detail/id/531353/Danz-fights-for-the-people.html
LMAO @ PROVE IT OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!!! Um... Suck it Bucky! I'M SURE YOUR APOLOGY WILL BE FORTHCOMING!
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
Personally, I think Cantor was a good Majority Leader who was trying to find ways to reach agreement on key issues and break the gridlock.
More Americans want gridlock. The divide is deepening. The political class polarized America into so many hyphenated groups, the 2 parties can not pull them together politically. People have stopped looking toward the government to resolve divides, and are realizing the parties claiming to fix the divides are actually creating them. Case and point, the media is claiming Cantor lost because of illegal immigration reform.(shhhh.,.but that is political code for supporting Hispanics, and the "tea party" are a bunch of bigots waking up everyday hating Hispanics)
LMAO @ PROVE IT OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!!! Um... Suck it Bucky! I'M SURE YOUR APOLOGY WILL BE FORTHCOMING!
Wow! $200k and an overpass sign-wave beat the Republican House Majority Leader and his $5 MILLION campaign. So much for you argument for the need of campaign finance reform.LOL
PROOF OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN??? LMAO! As if I have to PROVE anything to you BUCKY BOY! LMAO!
Just to show what a total asshat you are... I will give you the person and his story. Maybe you know him also. His name is SZABO. He was a TeaBagger organizer in the Fulton County TeaBagger Patriots, before moving to Virginia. His little band of TeaBaggers led a campaign against Tonko in 2010 which failed miserably. See his moment of fame in the Leader Herald: http://www.leaderherald.com/page/content.detail/id/531353/Danz-fights-for-the-people.html
LMAO @ PROVE IT OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!!! Um... Suck it Bucky! I'M SURE YOUR APOLOGY WILL BE FORTHCOMING!
You want an apology because I asked you to provide proof?
No.
But I'll give you a BuckStrider 'Tip of the Hat'™ for actually backing up a claim without selective editing, half truths or deception.
And congratulations for actually providing links. If only you would do this more often.
I'd like to say you made some progress today.
"Approval ratings go up and down for various reasons... An example is the high post 911 support for GWB even though he could be said to be responsible for the event." --- Box A Rox '9/11 Truther'
Melania is a bimbo... she is there to look at, not to listen to. --- Box A Rox and his 'War on Women'
"Approval ratings go up and down for various reasons... An example is the high post 911 support for GWB even though he could be said to be responsible for the event." --- Box A Rox '9/11 Truther'
Melania is a bimbo... she is there to look at, not to listen to. --- Box A Rox and his 'War on Women'
Logged
