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Cantor Replaced: Rep. Kevin McCarthy Selected as New House Majority Leader

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Photo Credit: APIn a GOP leadership shuffle, Republican lawmakers voted Thursday for California Rep. Kevin McCarthy to succeed Rep. Eric Cantor as House majority leader after Cantor’s unexpected primary defeat last week.

McCarthy, a fourth-term lawmaker who had held the No. 3 GOP position, was elected by secret ballot.

“America is struggling,” he said after the vote. “We’re struggling with a stagnant economy, a failed health care law, and so many are living paycheck to paycheck. They are looking for individuals that put people before politics. I make one promise: I will work every single day to make sure this conference has the courage to lead with the wisdom to listen.”

The day’s second election, to succeed McCarthy as party whip, was a much tighter three-way competition among Reps. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Peter Roskam of Illinois and Marlin Stutzman of Indiana. Scalise, 48, scored the victory.

Scalise, who won his seat in a special election in 2008, campaigned as head of the Republican Study Conference, a group of that sometimes serves as a conservative thorn in the side of leadership.

Read more from this story HERE.

DC ROCKED: David Downs Goliath

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Photo Credit: AP / Steve HelberHouse majority leader Cantor defeated in primary

By Alan Suderman and David Espo.

In an upset for the ages, Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, the second-most powerful man in the House, was dethroned Tuesday by a little-known, tea party-backed Republican primary challenger carried to victory on a wave of public anger over calls for looser immigration laws.

“This is a miracle from God that just happened,” exulted David Brat, an economics professor, as his victory became clear in the congressional district around Virginia’s capital city.

Speaking to downcast supporters, Cantor conceded, “Obviously we came up short” in a bid for renomination to an eighth term.

The victory 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 hope state Sen. Chris McDaniel can prevail then.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: Mark Wilson / Getty ImagesGOP Leadership in ‘Chaos’ After Eric Cantor’s Loss: “We’re absolutely stunned.”

By Billy House.

Befuddlement hit and lingered within the House GOP leadership ranks as Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s election fate was unwinding on Tuesday. Cantor lost in a major upset to primary challenger Dave Brat.

Speaker John Boehner, in a statement from his office late Tuesday night, said, “Eric Cantor and I have gone through a lot together.”

“He’s a good friend and a great leader, and somone I’ve come to rely upon on a daily basis as we make the touch choices that come with governing,” added Boehner, who said his thoughts Tuesday night were with Cantor, his wife Diana, and their kids.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Democrats claim credit for helping Tea Party topple Eric Cantor

By Paul Bedard.

Tea Party Republicans upset with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s immigration push helped to torpedo his reelection Tuesday night, but Virginia political sources also give credit to Democrats who worked to undermine the No. 2 House leader by voting in the open primary.

Sources said the Democrats, some upset with the House GOP’s stonewalling of President Obama’s agenda and others mad the state Republicans took control of the state Senate this week, organized a get-out-the-vote effort to side with challenger Dave Brat, who beat Cantor.

“Some people who think the president is doing a reasonable job have argued back to me that Dave Brat will be even worse than Cantor. No. Dave Brat will be an inconsequential one-term backbencher howling against the oncoming tide,” said an email from a key Democratic anti-Cantor organizer Monday. “Leader Cantor losing because Obama supporters turned out to vote against him, will be the lead story in the national news on Wednesday,” it added.

Read more from this story HERE.

Miller on Tea Party Victory in Virginia: ‘We the People’ Put Establishment in Its Place

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Photo Credit: waltarrrrr / Creative Commons U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller congratulated Dave Brat on his victory tonight over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in Virginia’s 7th District Republican Primary.

“I want to congratulate Dave Brat on his great victory in Virginia tonight. Those in the Republican Establishment have done all they can this election cycle to announce the demise of the tea party movement with bold predictions of ‘crushing them everywhere.’ Well, maybe they should have checked with the grassroots before making such proclamations,” said Miller. “From Jolly in Florida to Sasse in Nebraska to McDaniel in Mississippi to Brat in Virginia, the tea party is proving that the people and not the party bosses or would-be king-makers in DC have the final say.”

Brat overcame Cantor’s significant monetary advantage and media presence to defeat the GOP Party leader. At the end of the last reporting period in March, Brat had $40,000 on hand to Cantor’s over $2 million. Cantor raised over $5 million for his re-election bid to Brat’s $200,000 in contributions. Cantor’s campaign released a poll last Friday conducted by John McLaughlin of McLaughlin & Associates, reported on by the Washington Post, showing Cantor with a 34-point lead over his tea party challenger (62 to 28 percent). Brat defeated Cantor by approximately 55 to 46 percent.

In 2010, Miller defeated Senator Lisa Murkowski in the Republican primary despite polling by Alaskan firm Dittman Research showing him trailing by 37 points weeks before the election. Murkowski, like Cantor, enjoyed a substantial monetary advantage of $2 million on hand at the end of June to Miller’s $100,000.

Dittman Research recently released a poll (without publishing the supporting data) showing Miller running over twenty points down against his primary opponents. The owner of the research firm is a max contributor to establishment candidate Mead Treadwell. Miller recently defeated Treadwell in a debate in his rival’s hometown of Anchorage, winning the straw poll following the debate. Less than a week before Miller won the Alaska Republican Assembly’s straw poll taking 76 percent of the vote, to Treadwell’s 18 percent, and Dan Sullivan’s 6 percent. Both indicate Miller has strong grassroots support as he did in 2010.

Amnesty and government spending were two of the decisive issues in Virginia’s 7th District primary race. Miller faces two Establishment candidates, Treadwell, who openly advocates for amnesty and Dan Sullivan who is heavily backed by those advocating for it, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and billionaire moderate Republican Paul Singer. Miller was the only candidate to come out publicly against the Murray-Ryan budget deal, when it was being debated last fall.

“The Party elite always play the same game: use unreliable polling and the media to try to convince voters there is no way to defeat their hand-picked candidates. The people are not buying it,” said Miller spokesman Randy DeSoto. “They know Washington is the problem and sending more there who want to play the Establishment game will not restore freedom or revive our economy. Based on what we’ve been seeing here in Alaska, the grassroots have another surprise in store for the Establishment in August.”

What Eric Cantor’s Primary Loss REALLY Means To The Republican Party…

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Photo Credit: Peter Stevens / Flickr
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor faced a tenacious – and ultimately victorious – foe in Virginia’s Republican primary election Tuesday. Economics professor and Tea Party favorite David Brat mounted a grassroots campaign that helped draw 37 percent more voters to the polls this week than during the same race two years ago.

Even with that voter increase, Cantor received nearly 10,000 fewer voters than he did during his previous re-election bid. In the end, the establishment Republican’s conservative challenger scored a big win that many Tea Party supporters hope will set the tone for upcoming elections.

“This is a miracle from God that just happened,” Brat said of his victory…

Another self-described grassroots Tea Party candidate, Alaska’s Joe Miller, weighed in on the significance of Brat’s win.

He echoed the Madison Project statement, noting that some within the GOP “have done all they can this election cycle to announce the demise” of Tea Party and unabashedly conservative candidates.

“Well,” he continued, “maybe they should have checked with the grassroots before making such proclamations.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Cantor Spent $168,637 on Steak Houses, Brat Spent $122,793 on Entire Campaign

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Photo Credit: TownHall By Katie Pavlich.

When Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost to his challenger David Brat last night, shock waves were sent across the political world. As Guy already noted, Brat was unheralded, underfunded and many people didn’t know who he was until his huge victory last night. In total, Cantor spent $5 million on his campaign while Brat spent just $200,000. Cantor lost by eleven points.

But the stat of night comes from the New York Times, which shows Cantor’s campaign spent as much money on steak houses as Brat spent on his entire campaign.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: TownHallCantor Loses By 11 Million Voters

By Ann Coulter.

Economics professor Dave Brat crushed House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the Republican primary Tuesday night, in a campaign that was mostly about Cantor’s supporting amnesty for 11 million illegal aliens.

This marks the first time a U.S. House majority leader has ever lost a primary election.

His crushing defeat reinforces a central point: Whenever the voters know an election is about immigration, they will always vote against more immigration — especially amnesty.

Cantor spent more than $5 million on his campaign. Brat spent less than $150,000. But Brat made the election about Cantor’s support for amnesty, so he won.

The pro-amnesty crowd — i.e., everyone except the American people — promptly lost its collective mind. The amnesty shills went on the attack, insisting that Cantor’s historic defeat had nothing to do amnesty. Brat’s triumph was touted as simply a victory for the “tea party.”

Read more from this story HERE.

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Cantor Fell Because He Wouldn’t Fight the Good Fight

By Rabbi Aryeh Spero.

Tuesday night, David Brat, an economics professor at Randolph-Macon College, right outside Richmond, accomplished something stunning: defeating the House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor, something never done before in American history.

Some are trying to pigeonhole Mr. Brat as a Tea Party candidate, but the truth is that, while he appeals to the Tea Party constituency, he is what a bread-and-butter Republican is supposed to be: a believer in free markets, limited government, strong defense, and a morality based in our Judeo-Christian ethos.

I first met Mr. Brat years back when he invited me to speak at Randolph-Macon College on the topic of “The Morality of Capitalism” based on an article I had published in the Wall Street Journal. He is well grounded in the fundamentals of American political philosophy.

The issue of immigration played heavily in the last two weeks of the campaign: specifically, the unacceptable daily phenomenon of illegals walking across the border and almost immediately becoming wards of the state by taxing hardworking American citizens and too-quickly finding loopholes for them to vote and determine America’s destiny. Americans are afraid they are losing their country and are being made powerless to stop it.

Read more from this story HERE.

Cantor Blasts Obama Over Phone Call On Immigration Reform (+video)

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

President Obama called House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to prod Republicans to bring up immigration reform, but the conversation apparently did not go well.

Cantor issued a blistering statement afterward, criticizing Obama for calling him just after delivering what he called “a partisan statement” that indicated “no desire to work together” on immigration, a top priority for Obama that House Republicans have largely ignored.

“After five years, President Obama still has not learned how to effectively work with Congress to get things done,” Cantor said in the statement. “You do not attack the very people you hope to engage in a serious dialogue. I told the president the same thing I told him the last time we spoke. House Republicans do not support Senate Democrats’ immigration bill and amnesty efforts, and it will not be considered in the House.”

A White House official said Obama had called Cantor to wish him a happy “Passover, and immigration reform then came up.

The official said the White House was suprised by the tone of Cantor’s statement, which didn’t reflect the call.

Read more from this story HERE.

Action Alert: Cantor Says House May Begin Work on Amnesty Bill this Month; Opponents Must Flood Congress with Calls

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Photo Credit: APHouse may start immigration review soon

By Seung Min Kim. The Republican-led House could start working on immigration bills focused on border security on the floor in July, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said in a memo to colleagues sent Friday.

“The House may begin consideration of the border security measures that have been passed by the Homeland Security and Judiciary Committees and begin reviewing other immigration proposals,” Cantor wrote to fellow House Republicans.

The missive from Cantor is among the first official indications that an immigration reform measure could come to the House floor this month. The Senate passed its comprehensive bill June 27, and the focus now turns to the House. Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: APGrassley could back House immigration bill

By Seth McLaughlin. Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley predicted Friday that he will be able to support the immigration bill that comes out of the GOP-controlled House because it will do more to secure the border than the proposal that passed out of the Senate last week.

Speaking on 1040 WHO radio in Iowa, Mr. Grassley said that he opposed the bill that passed out of the Democrat-controlled Senate because it “didn’t secure the border first.”

“I think the House of Representatives is more for border security than the Senate is, and I think we will get a bill out of the House that I think I can vote for — particularly if it does secure the border,” the Iowa lawmaker said. Read more from this story HERE.

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Sen. Cruz to Headline Americans For Prosperity Event in Florida

By Todd Beamon. Sen. Ted Cruz will be the main speaker at a major tea party gathering in Florida sponsored by Americans for Prosperity during Labor Day Weekend.

The Texas Republican will join GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and conservative commentator Michelle Malkin at the Orlando event, The Hill reports. Read more from this story HERE.

Cantor Withdraws Obamacare Bill that Drew the Ire of Conservatives

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Photo Credit: John Shinkle House Republican leadership abruptly pulled a health care bill from the floor after concerns from conservatives that it extended President Barack Obama’s health care law.

The legislation, which was championed by Majority Leader Eric Cantor, had opposition from all corners of the conservative universe.

It’s a blow to the Virginia Republican, who touted the “Helping Sick Americans Now Act” and visited the Republican Study Committee meeting Wednesday to try to move votes.

The legislation attempts to transfer money from what Republicans call a “slush fund” — it’s actually a preventative disease account — to create high-risk pools for sick Americans. The Obama administration said Tuesday the president would likely veto the bill.

“We had good conversations with our members and made a lot of solid progress,” said Erica Elliott, a spokesman for Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). “There’s still work to do and with members leaving town for the Bush Library dedication in Texas, we’ll continue the conversations after the district work period.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Conservatives Pushing Boehner, Cantor To Defund ObamaCare In Continuing Resolution

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Photo Credit: breitbartConservative House Republicans are circulating a letter calling on House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor to defund Obamacare in the upcoming continuing resolution that funds the government. Oklahoma Republican Rep. Jim Bridenstine, a freshman, and Kansas Republican Rep. Tim Huelskamp are leading the charge.

“The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (‘ObamaCare’) remains broadly unpopular across America,” the letter to Boehner and Cantor reads. “More and more Americans are now feeling its impact–from job losses and part-time downgrades, to insurance policy changes and violations of religious liberties, to state budget strains from Medicaid expansions. And Americans don’t like these impacts. Most Americans still believe that healthcare should be controlled by patients and doctors, not by the government.”

In the letter, the conservatives note that while they plan to “re-start efforts to repeal ObamaCare in its entirety this year, next year and until we are successful,” that “in the meantime, there is more we can do in Congress.”

The upcoming continuing resolution, which funds the government, is one such place. House Republicans have the power, should they choose to use it, to shut down Obamacare through the appropriations process–the power of the purse laid out in the United States Constitution.

It is unclear if Boehner and Cantor will defund Obamacare this time around. Over the past couple years, they have passed continuing resolutions that actually fund Obamacare. Spokespeople for both Boehner and Cantor have not returned requests for comment from Breitbart News on this matter.

Read more from this story HERE.

FBI Whistle-Blower Told Eric Cantor About Petraeus Affair in October

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An FBI whistleblower told House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) in late October that ex-CIA Director David Petraeus had been involved in an extramarital affair and was potentially putting national security at risk, the New York Times reported Saturday.

Cantor reportedly knew about the affair for at least a week and a half before Petraeus resigned Friday.

“I was contacted by an F.B.I. employee concerned that sensitive, classified information may have been compromised and made certain Director Mueller was aware of these serious allegations and the potential risk to our national security,” Cantor said in a statement to the Times.

According to the Times, Cantor learned through Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) “that a whistle-blower wanted to speak to someone in the Congressional leadership about a national security concern.” Cantor’s chief of staff called the FBI afterward on Oct. 31 to inform them about what Cantor had learned.

A Cantor spokesman confirmed the report to CNN on Sunday.

Read more from this story HERE.