WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican tea party forces are
rejoicing and the party establishment is somber or altogether silent in
the wake of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s primary defeat at the
hands of political neophyte David Brat, an unflinching foe of loosening
immigration laws.
Speaker John Boehner praised Cantor as "a good
friend and a great leader, and someone I’ve come to rely upon on a daily
basis" in a statement that steered clear of the issue that Brat put at
the center of his campaign and has divided the party for years.
Oregon
Rep. Greg Walden, the head of the House GOP campaign committee, said
Cantor has "been a steadfast leader for our party, and a great friend
and mentor for so many House Republicans."
Neither man took note
of Brat’s victory. And party chairman Reince Priebus, who has spoken of
the need to broaden the party’s appeal, offered no comment after
Cantor’s shocking loss at the hands of an underfunded challenger who
warned the seven-term incumbent would line up for amnesty for immigrants
in the country illegally.
Cantor himself conceded defeat, telling downcast supporters, "Obviously we came up short."
Brat and his supporters in the ranks of the tea party were triumphant.
"This
is a miracle from God," said the economics professor, who toppled the
second-most powerful Republican in the House in an upset that few, if
any, in the party’s high command saw coming.
But as he looked ahead to November’s elections, Brat declined to spell out policy specifics.
"I’m
a Ph.D. in economics, and so you analyze every situation uniquely," he
told MSNBC in an interview in which he said he preferred to keep the
focus on the "celebratory issues" of Tuesday’s results.
His allies
sounded more than pleased. "The grassroots is in revolt and marching,"
said L. Brent Bozell III, chairman of ForAmerica.
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 will achieve
victory then.
Cantor’s defeat was the first primary setback for a
senior leader in Congress in recent years. Former House Speaker Thomas
Foley of Washington and Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South
Dakota both lost their seats at the polls in the past two decades, but
they fell to Republicans, not to challengers from within their own
parties.
The outcome may well mark the end of Cantor’s political
career, although at 51 he has plenty of time to attempt a future
comeback. Aides did not respond Tuesday night when asked if the majority
leader would run a write-in campaign in the fall.
But the impact
of Cantor’s surprise loss on the fate of immigration legislation in the
current Congress seemed clearer still. 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 more sympathetic to such legislation will likely be less
willing to try.
Many Republicans say the party can ill afford to
stick to an uncompromising stand on the issue, given the increasing
political influence of Hispanic voters.
And a Democrat, Rep. Xavier Becerra of California, put it even more bluntly.
"For
Republicans in the House, my sense is they are now squeezed between
doing things the tea party way or doing things the American way," he
said in an appearance Wednesday morning on MSNBC.
Appearing on the
same network, Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican, said he was
worried that the message from Cantor’s stunning loss may be even more
congressional gridlock. Asked if he thought immigration legislation was
dead, King 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."
Cantor
had been tugged by two warring forces in his party and in recent weeks
sought to emphasize his opposition to far-reaching immigration
legislation as Brat’s challenge gained force. Last month, a feisty crowd
of Brat supporters booed Cantor in front of his family at a local party
convention.
Still, neither he nor other House leaders betrayed
any serious concern that his tenure was in danger, and his allies leaked
a private poll in recent days that claimed he had a comfortable lead
over Brat.
In the end, despite help from establishment groups,
Cantor’s repudiation was complete in an area that first sent him to
Congress in 2000.
With votes counted in 99 percent of the precincts, 64,418 votes were cast, roughly a 37 percent increase
over two years ago.
Despite that, Cantor polled fewer votes than he did in 2012 — 28,631 this time, compared with 37,369
then.
In the fall, Brat will face Democrat Jack Trammel, also a professor at Randolph-Macon, in the solidly
Republican district.
It
was unclear if Cantor intended to remain in his leadership post for the
duration of the year or who might replace him in the new Congress if
Republicans hold their majority.
Democrats seized on the upset as evidence that their fight for House control this fall is far from over.

"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," said the Democratic leader, Rep. Nancy
Pelosi of California. "As far as the midterm elections are concerned,
it’s a whole new ballgame."
Cantor was appointed to his first
leadership position in 2002, when he was named chief deputy whip of the
party and became the highest-ranking Jewish Republican in Washington. It
was a recognition of his fundraising skills as well as his conservative
voting record at a time Republican leaders were eager to tap into
Jewish donors for their campaigns. Since Boehner became speaker in 2009,
Cantor has been seen as both a likely eventual successor and at times a
potential rival.
___
Associated Press writers David Pace
and Erica Werner in Washington and Alan Suderman, Larry O’Dell, Steve
Szkotak and Michael Felberbaum in Richmond contributed to this report.
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