Eric Cantor Loses to Tea Party Challenger!

I hold no love for Congressman Eric Cantor who I have long viewed as a sleazy political whore only too willing to sell out to the ugliest elements in the GOP base.  Thus, normally, I'd be happy to see him go down in electoral defeat.  But today Cantor has apparently lost the GOP primary for his district to a Tea Party candidate who makes Cantor look not only sane but reasonable.  Truly no one seems to have seen this coming, including his primary challenger David Brat who was out spent by Cantor many times over.  With 94% of the precincts reporting, Cantor is down by more than 7000 votes.  The take away for Democrats is that turning out their base in November is absolutely critical because the Republican base is like a bunch of rabid dogs that WILL turn out.  Here are highlights from the Richmond Times Dispatch on today's surprising results:

Economist David Brat of Randolph-Macon College has upset House Majority Leader in a Republican primary, a stunning defeat for the veteran congressman who appeared next in line to become speaker of the House.

Brat, a professor with little name ID toppled a Republican titan who had not faced a close challenge since he was first elected in 2000.

Brat, dwarfed by Cantor in spending, drummed home the immigration issue, accusing the incumbent of favoring "amnesty" for illegal immigrants. Cantor denied the charge, saying only that children of illegal immigrants should not suffer because their parents brought them into the country.

A thunderous cheer went up at Brat's victory party at an office park in Glen Allen, when word reached people in the crowd that AP had called the contest.

Brat does not want to speak publicly until he is absolutely sure, perhaps a sign that he is almost as shocked as Cantor must be.
The stormy Republican primary in the 7th District has exposed discontent among Republican Party activists and has drawn national attention. Immigration reform drew much debate during the contest that played out in voters’ mailboxes and through TV ads.

The winner of the primary will face Democrat John “Jack” Trammell.

Cantor held a massive cash advantage but Brat drew some star power, including talk radio host Laura Ingraham who held a rally for Brat in Cantor’s own backyard.

Politico has added details and looks at the earthquake this represents for Washington DC and Congress:

It’s one of the most stunning losses in modern House politics, and completely upends the GOP hierarchy in Virginia and Washington. Cantor enjoyed a meteoric rise that took him from chief deputy whip, to minority whip to majority leader in the span of 13 years. He had long been seen as John Boehner’s successor as speaker.

The loss will ripple across Washington, too: from political consultants who worked for Cantor to his aides who decamped for K Street, there will be reverberations.

There were warning signs that kept piling up. In April, Brat supporters vastly outnumbered Cantor allies at local GOP meetings. Then in May, tea party fueled activists knocked off Cantor’s choice for local GOP chair in Cantor’s home base of Henrico County. But Cantor’s aides consistently brushed off the challenge, telling reporters and fellow GOP aides that the contest didn’t merit the media coverage it was getting.

Brat severely trailed in fundraising, pulling in $200,000 this cycle compared to Cantor’s $2 million.  But Cantor took the primary challenge seriously.

Like the Christofascists who they welcomed with open arms out of short term expediency, the GOP establishment at first welcomed the Tea Party.  Now they face a double Frankenstein monster of their own creation.