stock photo added later
At 8:06 pm Rachel Maddow has broken into MSNBC's normal programming to announce that The Associated Press has called the Virginia race for Dave Brat who has defeated Eric Cantor (R-VA) who is the House Majority Leader. Current vote tallies show David Brat leading 56% to 44%.
Steve Kornacki says its the biggest political upset he has seen in his life.
5:21 PM PT: Robert Costa Eric Cantor succumbs to tea party challenger Tuesday
In a stunning upset propelled by tea party activists, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) was defeated in Tuesday’s congressional primary, with insurgent David Brat delivering an unpredicted and devastating loss to the second most powerful Republican in the House who has widely been touted as a future speaker.
The race called shortly after 8 p.m. Eastern by the Associated Press.
Brat’s victory gives the GOP a volatile outlook for the rest of the campaign season, with the party establishment struggling late Tuesday to grapple with the news and tea party conservatives relishing a surprising win.
“This is an earthquake,” said former Minnesota congressman Vin Weber, a friend of Cantor’s. “No one thought he’d lose.” But Brat, tapping into conservative anger over Cantor’s role in supporting efforts to reform federal immigration laws, found a way to combat Cantor’s significant financial edge.
5:26 PM PT: Chuck Todd, NBC's Political Director says this is a shock, Eric Cantor was actually expected to become the next Speaker of the House next February as John Boehner was been expected to step down to pursue more money making pursuits.
Eric Cantor now is making his concession speech, thanking his wife, volunteers,
5:31 PM PT: Eric Cantor just delivered a gracious concession speech.
With 83% of precincts reporting Maddow says Brat has a 12% lead.
5:33 PM PT: Another thing Chuck Todd said was this means any possibility of immigration reform is dead, if it already wasn't dead as this was Dave Brat's biggest issue and he expects all other Republicans to run from this issues as fast as possible.
5:38 PM PT: Eric Cantor Defeated In Republican Primary, Projections Say
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has lost his Republican primary in Virginia's 7th congressional district to tea party challenger David Brat — a stunning upset that will re-write the leadership of the chamber's GOP leadership.
With 209 of 243 precincts reporting Brat, an economics professor, was leading Cantor by . The Associated Press and CNN projected Brat as the winner.
NPR's Ron Elving calls the defeat of Cantor, who was widely expected to eventually replace House Speaker John Boehner, "Truly stunning and all but unprecedented for a speaker-in-waiting."
, in an article earlier today said Cantor was expected to prevail, but acknowledged that Brat had "exposed discontent with Cantor in the solidly Republican in the solidly Republican, suburban Richmond 7th Congressional District by attacking the lawmaker on his votes to raise the debt ceiling and end the government shutdown, as well as his support for some immigration reforms."
Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, had argued that Cantor was not conservative enough "and accused the seven-term incumbent of betraying conservative values on spending , the national debt and immigration," Reuters says.
5:42 PM PT: NPR reports Eric Cantor Defeated In Republican Primary, Projections Say
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has lost his Republican primary in Virginia's 7th congressional district to tea party challenger David Brat — a stunning upset that will re-write the leadership of the chamber's GOP leadership.
With 209 of 243 precincts reporting Brat, an economics professor, was leading Cantor by . The Associated Press and CNN projected Brat as the winner.
NPR's Ron Elving calls the defeat of Cantor, who was widely expected to eventually replace House Speaker John Boehner, "Truly stunning and all but unprecedented for a speaker-in-waiting."
, in an article earlier today said Cantor was expected to prevail, but acknowledged that Brat had "exposed discontent with Cantor in the solidly Republican in the solidly Republican, suburban Richmond 7th Congressional District by attacking the lawmaker on his votes to raise the debt ceiling and end the government shutdown, as well as his support for some immigration reforms."
And check out this funny error by NPR trying to keep up with breaking news.
Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, had argued that Cantor was not conservative enough "and accused the seven-term incumbent of betraying conservative values on spending , the national debt and immigration," Reuters says.
5:58 PM PT: Well, dang, NPR seems to have an exclusive here that would explain alot.
Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, had argued that Cantor was not conservative enough "and accused the seven-term incumbent of betraying conservative values on spending , the national debt and immigration," Reuters says.
If Cantor has been going around denouncing himself voters must have been confused or concerned. LOL
6:13 PM PT: Rachel is now interviewing Professor (Eric?) Sabato, an expert on VA politics, asking him about the 7th District, and should the national media have seen this coming.
Sabato says Cantor had a real machine that step on a lot of local toes and says this is the biggest upset since something in 1967.
6:16 PM PT: RM says that the Democratic Party only decided to run Jack Tramel a professor from the same college, Randolph (something or other) the same one Brat is from.
6:20 PM PT: Rachel Maddow asks if it is possible Eric Cantor could run as a write-in candidate in the general election noting he said nothing about that in his concession speech.
One of our kogs wrote this morning urging Democrats to vote for Brat in this open primary on the presumption that Eric Cantor would then run as a write in in the general splitting the Republican Party allowing our guy to win.
She's broken for a commercial saying in the next segment she will look at what this means for the power structure in Washington.
6:28 PM PT: Rachel Maddow is now making fun how sappy Eric Cantor's political ads have been. She said Cantor chose to play it safe, and ran as a "smiley face emoticon" not really saying anything.
She also showed the segment where the Republican audience booed when Cantor called Brat a liar at a debate.
And he also tried to present himself as sort of neutral on immigration at a national level, but ran aggressively against it in local print mailings in the state, I think implying that VA voters were smart enough to figure out that he was trying to have it both ways.
7:25 PM PT: MSNBC is reporting that Brat's victory is all the more amazing when you realize that Cantor outspent Brat 25 to1. Cantor spent over $5 million on radio and Brat spent known.