WASHINGTON, D.C. (SDJW)–House Majority Leader Eric Cantor announced that in the wake of his primary election defeat on Tuesday, June 10, he will step down from his leadership position on July 31. He reportedly threw his support to Kevin McCarthy of California to become his successor as the number two most powerful Republican in the House behind Speaker John Boehner.
This set up a contest in which McCarthy is expected to be opposed by a fellow conservative, Pete Sessions of Texas. A vote of the Republican caucus has been scheduled for Thursday, June 19.
The developments came following Cantor’s surprise defeat at the hands of economics professor Dave Brat, a member of the Tea Party faction of the Republican party. Cantor will remain in office until the new Congress takes its oath of office on January 3, 2015. Brat, in the meantime, faces a general election against a fellow professor at Randolph Macon College, Democrat Jack Trammell. The district is heavily Republican in registration.
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Preceding compiled by San Diego Jewish World staff