Issue #278
How Big Money failed to rescue Eric Cantor
Big money couldn’t save Eric Cantor. The darling of big Wall Street donors, the K Street business types, and the Republican establishment went down in flames Tuesday, all the while crushing his no-name opponent with a 26-1 cash advantage in the money race. Cantor, the House majority leader, raised nearly $5.5 million during the cycle, bolstered by investments from the American Chemistry Council, the American College of Radiology, the National Rifle Association, and the National Association of Realtors. He lost to Dave Brat, a college professor with a $200,000 shoestring budget. The result should be a wakeup call that with a fickle Republican primary electorate in an anti-incumbent, anti-Washington mood, no fundraising advantage can guarantee victory. Politico, 6-11-14. A poll out Wednesday from Rep. Eric Cantor’s Virginia district raises questions about the wisdom of running away from immigration reform for the GOP. The survey, conducted Tuesday by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling for the labor-aligned Americans United for Change, found that most voters in Cantor’s district favored immigration reform, even as a sliver of the electorate was tossing the Republican House majority leader from office in favor of conservative Dave Brat. Huffington Post, 6-11-14.