A shocking outcome of the primary election held recently was that the House Majority leader Eric Cantor lost to his Tea Party challenger David Brat. This outcome is seen by many as the biggest let down in the history of American politics as David Brat, an economics professor, is an unknown figure in the world of politics.
The 51-year-old Cantor is one of the most senior Republicans currently in the House and he was widely expected to take over the position of speaker from the incumbent John Boehner. However, with the results declared on Tuesday going against him, he no longer can stand for a re-election from Virginia. This latest election result has severely damaged the image of the Republicans who thought that they had survived the onslaught by the Tea Party.
As soon as three quarters of the votes were counted, the result became quite clear and the Associated Press even gave a prediction about who was heading towards victory. Cantor, who admitted defeat, now is in a very dicey situation as he lost his position as the power-broker for the party in Washington. Cantor can stand as a write-in candidate from Virginia’s 8th district, but it is very unlikely.
The fight between the Republicans and the conservative Tea Party leaders has been the most fierce of its sort in recent times, which last year led to the shutdown of the government. Brat’s victory is also very surprising as the Republicans had easily beaten their conservative rivals in other states of America. For instance in South Carolina, senator Lindsey Graham comfortably defeated her Tea Party challengers by getting more than 50 percent of the votes.
The more conservative Cantor didn’t leave any stone unturned with regards to his campaign as he spent a lot of money and effort to win the election. His campaign was mainly based on pointing fingers at the lack of experience of his opponent which the voters didn’t buy. Brat, however, raised more relevant issues like the immigration reform and the extension of the debt ceiling while taking on the GOP establishment. These issues stuck a chord with the voters who supported him in droves.
Even with this victory, Brat cannot rest on his laurels as he will be facing a fresh election in November for the House seat. This time, he will be up against a fellow professor and Democratic nominee Jack Trammell.
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