Election loser Eric Cantor (l) and winner Dave Brat (r).
It seems like the influence of the Tea Party is on the wane. Once a threat to the establishment that routinely endorsed and won primary elections, these days the Tea Party is mostly treated as a joke, or a fringe group, rather than the CEO-toppling political force it once was. However, just because the Tea Party is down, that doesn’t mean they’re out by any stretch of the imagination. The Tea Party still yields a lot of power, especially in Republican primary election races. Just ask Eric Cantor. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was dethroned in the Virginia Republican primary by Tea Party-basked Dave Brat.
Despite raising only $200,000, Mr. Brat, a college professor from Randolph-Macon College, managed to defeat the most powerful Republican in the House of Representatives in the 7th District Primary election. Brat took home 56 percent of the vote to Cantor’s 44, but Cantor also had several million dollars at his disposal (and still does should he wish to push the issue into the general election). No word yet on whether or not Cantor will be filing to run as a write-in candidate like Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski did when she lost to a Tea Partier in 2010. Meanwhile, Mr. Brat will square off against Democrat Jack Trammel in the election in November; Mr. Trammel is also an employee of Randolph-Macon College.
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