Vox - Eric Cantor is toasthttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52517/voxv.png2014-08-01T10:10:02-04:00http://www.vox.com/rss/stream/55626232014-08-01T10:10:02-04:002014-08-01T10:10:02-04:00Eric Cantor will leave Congress early
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<img alt="Eric Cantor after his farewell address, July 31." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/desqCv8Du3fHCQG-Bx2AkGcPiwA=/0x30:2039x1559/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/36365046/452975404.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Eric Cantor after his farewell address, July 31. | Bill Clark, CQ-Roll Call / Getty</figcaption>
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<p>Former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), who lost his primary this year in a shocking upset, said Thursday that he would resign his Congressional seat this August rather than serving out his term, <a href="http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/virginia-politics/cantor-to-resign-from-congress-on-aug/article_b62e871b-fa55-57fe-9019-6efaf52cbcc7.html" style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;">reports</a> <span>the Richmond Times-Dispatch.</span></p>
<p>Cantor had stepped down as Majority Leader earlier this week, and was replaced by Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). He hadn't previously mentioned any plans to leave Congress early, and didn't specify why he was doing so in a <a href="http://www.timesdispatch.com/opinion/their-opinion/columnists-blogs/guest-columnists/cantor-serving-virginians-has-been-my-highest-honor/article_88e0577d-69b6-5eb2-89e6-ebff4d24677a.html">Friday op-ed </a>about the decision.</p>
<p><span>But r</span><span>ecently, Politico's Mike Allen </span><a href="http://www.politico.com/playbook/0714/playbook14651.html" style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;">wrote</a><span> that Cantor "is expected to take a New York finance job as part of a lucrative new life." (Cantor's aides emphasized to Allen nothing was decided.)</span></p>
<p>Cantor has endorsed <a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/6/10/5798702/things-to-know-about-dave-brat-the-man-who-took-down-eric-cantor">Dave Brat</a>, who defeated him in the primary. Check out Vox's coverage of Cantor's loss <a href="http://www.vox.com/eric-cantor-loses-primary">here</a>. And y<span>ou can watch Cantor's farewell address to the House, delivered Thursday, below:</span></p>
<p><iframe frameborder="0" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/uIgAlUhJ9Jc" height="315" width="560"></iframe></p>
https://www.vox.com/2014/8/1/5958925/eric-cantor-will-resign-from-congress-in-augustAndrew Prokop2014-06-19T15:28:00-04:002014-06-19T15:28:00-04:00Eric Cantor's replacement is just like Eric Cantor
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<img alt="Kevin McCarthy, the new House Majority Leader." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rvTkpL3ehPHdWZKE0iVcAAhbAH0=/0x0:2851x2138/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/34561609/450811584.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kevin McCarthy, the new House Majority Leader. | Win McNamee</figcaption>
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<p>"Truly, what divides Republicans pales in comparison to what divides us as conservatives from the Left and their Democratic Party," Eric Cantor said in his speech announcing his intention to step down as House Majority Leader.</p>
<p>Cantor was right about that. And that's why House Republicans today voted to replace Eric Cantor with someone who is, for all intents and purposes, like Eric Cantor:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">
<p>Breaking: McCarthy elected majority leader</p>
— Robert Costa (@costareports) <a href="https://twitter.com/costareports/statuses/479703951848140800">June 19, 2014</a>
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<p>McCarthy, for the record, was Cantor's pick for the job:</p>
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<p>Congratulations to my good friend <a href="https://twitter.com/kevinomccarthy">@kevinomccarthy</a> on your election as our next <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPLeader">@GOPLeader</a>!</p>
— Eric Cantor (@GOPLeader) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPLeader/statuses/479706046198726656">June 19, 2014</a>
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<p>It's hard to come up with ways in which Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the California Republican who previously served as House Republican Whip, differs from Cantor. They both want to cut taxes. They both voted for the Ryan budget. They both want to repeal Obamacare. And, for all the talk of Cantor's defeat being about immigration reform, McCarthy has basically the same position on immigration reform: he's abstractly <a href="http://www.laopinion.com/how-would-kevin-mccarthy-deal-with-immigration-reform">for immigration reform</a>, but he's not going to bring any solution to the problem up for a vote.</p>
<p>Which is probably as it should be. <span>When the conservative columnist Ramesh Ponnuru </span><a href="http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-05-21/the-tea-party-never-existed" style="background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.5;">dove deep</a><span> into polls of tea party supporters, he was comforted by what he found. "T</span><span>ea party advocates already believed the same things that regular Republicans did. They basically were regular Republicans, just, if you will, more so. </span><span>The differences between the tea party and 'establishment Republicans' have largely concerned style and attitude rather than program and ideology."</span></p>
<p>There was a lot of talk about what Republicans should learn from Cantor's primary defeat. But Cantor is one of very, very, very, very few incumbent Republicans who lost his primary fight. The Republican Party would be making a big mistake if it decided to sharply change course based on 36,000 hard-to-read votes in a primary election in Virginia's 7th District. McCarthy's elevation shows they're not making that mistake.</p>
https://www.vox.com/2014/6/11/5801434/whoever-replaces-eric-cantor-will-be-just-like-eric-cantorEzra Klein2014-06-12T08:56:04-04:002014-06-12T08:56:04-04:00Jon Stewart on Eric Cantor
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<p>Ezra Klein says nothing much will change as a result of Eric Cantor's primary defeat, because the Republican Party was <a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/6/11/5801434/whoever-replaces-eric-cantor-will-be-just-like-eric-cantor">already committed to a strategy of maximum opposition</a>. If you like your political points made in the form of satirical cable television, Jon Stewart offers a similar argument here.</p>
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<p style="text-align:left;background-color:#FFFFFF;padding:4px;margin-top:4px;margin-bottom:0px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><b><a href="http://thedailyshow.cc.com/">The Daily Show</a></b><br>Get More: <a href="http://thedailyshow.cc.com/full-episodes/">Daily Show Full Episodes</a>,<a href="http://www.facebook.com/thedailyshow">The Daily Show on Facebook</a>,<a href="http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos">Daily Show Video Archive</a></p>
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https://www.vox.com/2014/6/12/5803242/john-stewart-eric-cantor-primary-lossMatthew Yglesias2014-06-11T17:12:14-04:002014-06-11T17:12:14-04:00Cantor says he'll step down as majority leader
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<img alt="Cantor leaves the press conference." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YqtHFAv8FWXnDl8vaXTWD9R9iA0=/19x0:2020x1501/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/34220465/450450438.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Cantor leaves the press conference. | Saul Loeb, AFP/Getty</figcaption>
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<p>House Majority Leader Eric Cantor announced at a press conference Wednesday afternoon that he'd step down as House Majority Leader effective July 31. The GOP's new leadership elections will be held next week, on June 19.</p>
<p><span>Cantor repeatedly dodged questions about the political implications of his defeat, saying "I'm gonna leave the political analysis to y'all." But he downplayed the idea that the GOP faced serious divisions. "Truly what divides Republicans pales in comparison to what divides us as conservatives from the left and their Democratic Party," he said. "I hope that all Republicans will put minor differences aside and help elect a Republican House and Senate."</span></p>
<p><span>On immigration, an issue where challenger Dave Brat attacked him for being a flip-flopper, Cantor argued that his position has never changed — that the system needs reforms, that he opposed the president's approach, and that reform should be done "one step at a time." He reiterated his support to "see the issue of the kids addressed that didn't break any laws and came here unbeknownst to them" — a position Brat </span><a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/6/10/5798702/things-to-know-about-dave-brat-the-man-who-took-down-eric-cantor">criticized him for</a><span> during the campaign.</span></p>
<p><span>When asked if he had a preferred candidate to succeed him as Majority Leader, Cantor said that if his friend and fellow </span><a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/6/10/5798628/see-eric-cantor-in-happier-times-in-this-goofy-trailer-for-his-young/in/5562623">Young Gun</a><span> Kevin McCarthy chose to run, he "would make an outstanding majority leader and I will be backing him with my full support."</span></p>
<p>You can watch the full video of Cantor's press conference below, via <a href="http://www.rollcall.com" style="line-height: 1.5;">RollCall.com</a>:</p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KNFm9nkGPBo" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
https://www.vox.com/2014/6/11/5801402/cantor-announces-hell-step-down-as-house-majority-leaderAndrew Prokop2014-06-11T16:35:42-04:002014-06-11T16:35:42-04:00Watch Eric Cantor's press conference
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<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KNFm9nkGPBo" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p><a href="http://www.rollcall.com/" style="line-height: 1.5;">RollCall.com</a>'s stream of the press conference is above.</p>
https://www.vox.com/2014/6/11/5801296/watch-eric-cantors-press-conference-liveAndrew Prokop2014-06-11T15:15:39-04:002014-06-11T15:15:39-04:00The simplest explanation for Cantor's defeat
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<p>House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is <a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/6/10/5798582/eric-cantor-is-toast">toast</a>. In an unprecedented upset that nobody foresaw, the House majority leader was defeated last night when 36,000 of his 758,000 constituents voted for Tea Party candidate <a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/6/10/5798702/things-to-know-about-dave-brat-the-man-who-took-down-eric-cantor/in/5562623" style="line-height: 1.5;">David Brat</a> in the Republican primary. A House Majority Leader hasn't lost in a primary since they created the position in 1899, so commentators are now scrambling to analyze what Cantor's loss says about American politics, but the explanation for what happened is much smaller than the event itself.</p>
https://www.vox.com/2014/6/11/5800728/the-simplest-explanation-for-cantors-defeatEzra Klein2014-06-11T13:26:13-04:002014-06-11T13:26:13-04:00Report: Cantor will step down as majority leader
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<img alt="John Boehner and Eric Cantor" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/W4G8Uv0ZaIrv8DPctMXQDKyqkX4=/0x31:2039x1560/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/34208881/450403754.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>John Boehner and Eric Cantor | Mark Wilson / Getty</figcaption>
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<p>Eric Cantor will announce later today that he'll step down as House Majority Leader, effective July 31, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/eric-cantor-returns-to-the-capitol-says-he-will-discuss-his-plans-later-wednesday/2014/06/11/0d1abcac-f166-11e3-bf76-447a5df6411f_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost">reports</a> the Washington Post.</p>
<p>The decision ensures that the contest to succeed Cantor will play out soon. House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of California, a good friend of Cantor's and part of his "<a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/6/10/5798628/see-eric-cantor-in-happier-times-in-this-goofy-trailer-for-his-young/in/5562623">Young Guns</a>" group, <span>is next in line. But McCarthy's close association with the existing leadership team might create an opening for a more conservative challenger.</span></p>
<p><span>Accordingly, Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, long considered a rival to Cantor, </span><a href="http://dailycaller.com/2014/06/11/hensarling-opens-door-to-run-for-gop-leader/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter" style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;">announced</a><span> that he was "prayerfully considering" a leadership bid on Tuesday. And today, the Post's Robert Costa </span><a href="https://twitter.com/costareports/status/476765921185628161" style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;">reports</a><span> that Hensarling is "whipping votes vs. McCarthy, making a real play" — and that he has </span><a href="https://twitter.com/costareports/status/476765199756955648" style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;">already gained</a><span> the "blessing" of Jim Jordan, an influential leader of the party's conservative faction. </span></p>
<p>Politico has <a href="http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=FEA34B30-BC90-4D0A-BCFD-547BEDFD32FE">reported </a>that another conservative candidate from Texas, Rep. Pete Sessions, is making "an aggressive play," and had sent out a mass text message Tuesday night asking for support.</p>
https://www.vox.com/2014/6/11/5800602/report-cantor-will-step-down-as-house-majority-leader-at-the-end-ofAndrew Prokop2014-06-11T12:10:02-04:002014-06-11T12:10:02-04:007 explanations for Eric Cantor’s shocking defeat
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<figcaption>Nicholas Kamm, AFP</figcaption>
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<p><span>Why did House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lose his primary to a little-known challenger on Tuesday? Typically, Washington has a conventional wisdom ready for a question as big and obvious as that one. But since virtually no one predicted Cantor's loss, pundits and politicos of all stripes are scrambling for a way to explain why this thing they never thought could happen was actually obvious all along. </span><span>Here are some of the explanations they've come up with:</span></p>
<p><q aria-hidden="true" class="center">Brat said that Wall Street bankers, "instead of going to jail," went "on Eric's rolodex"</q></p>
<h3>1) He was tied to immigration reform</h3>
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<p class="caption">A 2013 speech where Cantor discussed immigration.</p>
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<p><span>Brat ran as an anti-immigration hardliner, and argued that Cantor would give amnesty to unauthorized immigrants. "The central policy issue in this race has become Cantor's absolute determination to pass an amnesty bill," he told </span><a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/06/08/Dave-Brat-Illegal-Immigrants-Pouring-into-USA-After-Cantor-Announced-Kids-Are-Welcome" style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;">Breitbart News</a><span> days ago. "Cantor is the No. 1 cheerleader in Congress for amnesty." In response, Cantor moved to the right on the issue and </span><a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/6/10/5798834/read-eric-cantors-anti-amnesty-campaign-mailers" style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;">argued</a><span> that he was protecting the US from the "Obama-Reid plan to give illegal aliens amnesty."</span><span> </span></p>
<p><span>After Cantor lost, Mark Murray of NBC News </span><a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/eric-cantor-casualty-immigration-reform-n128006" style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;">wrote</a><span> that Cantor was "a casualty of immigration reform." However,</span><span> since Senator Lindsey Graham, who not only supported but </span><i style="line-height: 1.5;">passed</i><span> an immigration bill, managed to overwhelmingly win his primary the same night, it's hard to say that immigration reform alone can end a top Republican's career.</span></p>
<h3>2) He was too close to banks and business, while his opponent was more populist</h3>
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<p><img src="http://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/assets/4597743/Screen_Shot_2014-06-11_at_11.10.05_AM.png" class="photo" alt="Screen_shot_2014-06-11_at_11.10.05_am"></p>
<p class="caption">Cantor rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty</p>
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<p>At the New Republic, John Judis <a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118097/dave-brat-and-triumph-rightwing-populism">writes</a> that Brat also campaigned on an anti-corporate, anti-Wall Street platform. <span>"All the investment banks in the New York and DC — those guys should have gone to jail. Instead of going to jail, they went on Eric's rolodex, and they are sending him big checks," Brat said. </span></p>
<p><span>Judis argues that many of Brat's immigration-themed attacks on Cantor were framed in terms of big business. "Eric is running on the Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable principles," Brat said. "If you add 40 million workers to our labor supply, what will happen to the wage rate for the average American?"</span></p>
<h3><span>3) He was feuding with local conservative activists</span></h3>
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<p class="caption">Last month, Cantor was booed at his district's GOP convention.</p>
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<p>All politics is local — especially House politics. So <span>Jon Ward of the Huffington Post </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/11/eric-cantor-demise_n_5482910.html?1402463266">finds</a> <span>the roots of Cantor's loss in a simmering feud between local conservative activists and the Virginia GOP's establishment. </span></p>
<p><span></span><span>The activists wanted the party's candidates to be chosen not in primaries, but in conventions, which they believed would result in more conservative nominees. They took over the party's central committee in 2012, and eventually, Cantor and other establishment figures decided to fight back. </span><span>They did so in part by </span><span>trying to drop local activists from convention delegate lists, as blogger Steve Albertson </span><a href="http://thebullelephant.com/slating/" style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;">explains here</a><span>. </span><span>"One Virginia GOP operative said that the fight over the central committee was 'all of' the reason Cantor lost," Ward </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/11/eric-cantor-demise_n_5482910.html?1402463266" style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;">writes</a><span>.</span></p>
<h3><span>4) He fell out with national activists and talk radio hosts</span></h3>
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<p class="caption"><img alt="Screen_shot_2014-06-11_at_11.01.55_am" class="photo" src="http://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/assets/4597695/Screen_Shot_2014-06-11_at_11.01.55_AM.png"></p>
<p class="caption">Laura Ingraham. Photo: Noel Vasquez, Getty</p>
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<p>Almost immediately after Cantor was chosen as majority leader, DC insiders speculated about the possibility that he could overthrow Boehner as Speaker with the support of conservatives. But the relationship between Cantor and ideological activists has deteriorated since then. <span>'He and his staff have repeatedly antagonized conservatives. 'One conservative recently told me that Cantor's staff were the "biggest bunch of a**holes on the Hill,"' Erick Erickson </span><a href="http://www.redstate.com/2014/06/10/why-eric-cantor-lost/" style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;">wrote</a><span> at Redstate. </span></p>
<p><span>Over time, Cantor began to back Boehner's policies more fully — which tied him to a leader who had frequently disappointed activists. </span><span>"Conservatives came to view Cantor as at best unreliable, at worst an outright enemy," </span><a style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;" href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/06/david_brat_defeats_eric_cantor_how_did_the_house_majority_leader_lose_to.html">writes</a><span> Dave Weigel. At TNR, Brian Beutler attributes </span><span>this rising antagonism to Cantor's own political strategy of playing to the right, </span><a style="background-color: #ffffff;" href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118098/eric-cantor-lost-because-he-exploited-conservatives-not-immigration?utm_content=bufferf909f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer">writing</a><span>, </span><span>"He created expectations that almost nobody serving at a high level of congressional leadership could meet." </span><span>Yet rather than organized outside groups, it was mainly t</span><span>alk radio hosts like </span><a style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;" href="http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/ingraham-attends-henrico-rally-for-brat/article_763c9bec-eb85-11e3-86a1-0017a43b2370.html">Laura Ingraham</a><span> and </span><a style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/eric-cantors-tea-party-opponent-in-va-primary-may-be-picking-up-momentum/2014/05/13/1a2d92d0-d9d7-11e3-b745-87d39690c5c0_story.html">Mark Levin</a><span> who backed Brat's challenge — showing again the outsized influence that medium has on the right.</span></p>
<h3><span>5) He lost touch with his district</span></h3>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/eric-cantors-tea-party-opponent-in-va-primary-may-be-picking-up-momentum/2014/05/13/1a2d92d0-d9d7-11e3-b745-87d39690c5c0_story.html" style="line-height: 1.5;"></a></p>
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<p class="caption">Virginia's 7th district. NationalAtlas.gov</p>
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<p>Members of the House are elected to represent a particular district, and they're expected to put that district first. <span>So there's a danger for incumbents who are too closely identified with Washington and party leadership.</span><span> </span><span>"Some GOP strategists said Cantor lost touch with his district as he focused more on his national leadership role," </span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/cantor-loss-throws-congress-into-disarray/2014/06/10/210250e2-f0e2-11e3-914c-1fbd0614e2d4_story.html" style="background-color: #ffffff;">writes</a><span> the Washington Post's Paul Kane. Erickson concurs, </span><a href="http://www.redstate.com/2014/06/10/why-eric-cantor-lost/" style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;">writing</a>, <span>"Cantor lost his race because he was running for Speaker of the House of Representatives while his constituents wanted a congressman."</span></p>
<p><q aria-hidden="true" class="center">"You can't ignore the elephant in the room"</q></p>
<h3>6) He's Jewish</h3>
<p>The New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/11/us/politics/cantors-loss-a-bad-omen-for-moderates.html?hp&_r=0">wrote</a> that Cantor "was culturally out of step with a redrawn district that was more rural, more gun-oriented and more conservative." Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/11/us/politics/cantors-loss-a-bad-omen-for-moderates.html?hp&_r=0">told</a> the paper, "Part of this plays into his religion. You can't ignore the elephant in the room." Matt Brooks, president of the Republican Jewish Coalition, <a href="http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=CC167A61-CB26-4DED-A228-F25F614BC7F6">told Politico</a> that Cantor's loss was "one of those incredible, evil twists of fate that just changed the potential course of history."</p>
<h3>7) He just failed to turn out his supporters</h3>
<div align="center">
<p><img src="http://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/assets/4597943/Screen_Shot_2014-06-11_at_11.47.50_AM.png" class="photo" alt="Screen_shot_2014-06-11_at_11.47.50_am"></p>
<p class="caption">Win McNamee, Getty Images News</p>
</div>
<p>Cantor's district has about 758,000 residents — yet only about 65,000 turned out to vote in the primary, and 36,000 of them voted for Brat. <span>"If the results point to one clear culprit, it's Cantor's campaign — and, in particular, his get-out-the-vote operation," Ezra Klein </span><a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/6/11/5799710/Eric-Cantor-beaten-tea-party">writes</a><span>. "Cantor almost certainly had more than 36,000 supporters in his district. But he didn't turn more than 36,000 of his supporters out to the polls. And that's why he lost."</span></p>
https://www.vox.com/2014/6/11/5799960/explanations-being-offered-for-cantors-lossAndrew Prokop