Eric Cantor

Eric Cantor

Republican Party

Prior offices

Virginia House of Delegates

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U.S. House Virginia District 7

Successor: David Brat

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Compensation

Net worth

$9,345,056

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 10, 2014

Education

Bachelor's

George Washington University

Graduate

Columbia University

Law

College of William and Mary

Personal

Religion

Jewish

Profession

Lawyer, Businessman

Contact

Personal website

Eric Cantor (b. June 6, 1963, in Richmond, VA) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives representing Virginia's 7th Congressional District. Cantor served in the House from January 3, 2001 - August 18, 2014.

Cantor was defeated in his bid for re-election by David Brat in the Republican primary on June 10, 2014. His defeat led to him stepping down as House Majority Leader on July 31, 2014, and his resignation from the House of Representatives on August 18, 2014.

Prior to being the House majority leader, Cantor served as the House minority whip from 2008-2011.

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings Cantor was an average Republican member of Congress, meaning he voted with the Republican Party on the majority of bills.

Biography

Before entering politics, Cantor was a lawyer.

Career

The following is an abbreviated list of Cantor's professional and political career:

• 2001-August 18, 2014: U.S. House of Representatives
  • 2011-July 31, 2014: House Majority Leader
  • 2008-2011: House Minority Whip
  • 2005-2009: House Deputy Minority Whip
  • 2003-2005: House Deputy Majority Whip
• 1992-2000: Virginia House of Delegates

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

As majority leader, Cantor was not on any committees for the 113th congress.

2011-2012

As majority leader, Cantor was not on any committees for the 112th congress.

Key votes

113th Congress

The 113th Congress had 55 out of 5,401 introduced bills enacted into law (1 percent) as of November 30, 2013. Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 1.14 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the first session. For more information pertaining to Cantor's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.

National security

Syria

See also: United States involvement in Syria

Cantor released a statement regarding congressional approval for intervention in Syria. He said, "I intend to vote to provide the President of the United States the option to use military force in Syria. Understanding that there are differing opinions on both sides of the aisle, it is up to President Obama to make the case to Congress and to the American people that this is the right course of action, and I hope he is successful in that endeavor.”

NDAA

Cantor voted in support of HR 1960 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the House on June 14, 2013, with a vote of 315 - 108. Both parties were somewhat divided on the vote.

DHS Appropriations

Cantor voted in support of HR 2217 - the DHS Appropriations Act of 2014. The bill passed the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 245 - 182 and was largely along party lines.

Keystone Pipeline Amendment

Cantor voted in opposition of House Amendment 69, which would have amended HR 3 to "require that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, conduct a study of the vulnerabilities of the Keystone XL pipeline to a terrorist attack and certify that necessary protections have been put in place." The amendment failed on May 22, 2013, with a vote of 176 - 239 and was largely along party lines.

CISPA (2013)

Cantor voted in support of HR 624 - the CISPA (2013). The bill passed the House on April 18, 2013, with a vote of 288 - 127. The bill permitted federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities. The bill was largely supported by Republicans, but divided the Democratic Party.

Economy

Farm bill

On January 29, 2014, the U.S. House approved the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, H.R. 2642, also known as the Farm Bill. The bill passed by a vote of 251-166. The nearly 1,000-page bill reformed and continued various programs of the Department of Agriculture through 2018. The $1 trillion bill expanded crop insurance for farmers by $7 billion over the next decade and created new subsidies for rice and peanut growers that would kick in when prices drop. It also cut the food stamp program an average of $90 per month for 1.7 million people in 15 states. Cantor voted with 161 other Republican representatives in favor of the bill.

2014 Budget

On January 15, 2014, the Republican-run House approved H.R. 3547, a $1.1 trillion spending bill to fund the government through September 30, 2014. The House voted 359-67 for the 1,582-page bill, with 64 Republicans and three Democrats voting against the bill. The omnibus package included 12 annual spending bills to fund federal operations. It increased the paychecks of federal workers and military personnel by 1 percent, increased Head Start funding for early childhood education by $1 billion, reduced funding to the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency, and protected the Affordable Care Act from any drastic cuts. Cantor voted with the majority of the Republican Party in favor of the bill.

Government shutdown

See also: United States budget debate, 2013

On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201. At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference. Cantor voted to approve the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.

The shutdown ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies. The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. Cantor voted for HR 2775.

Cantor urged Congress to sit down and talk on October 1, 2013, the first day of the government shutdown. He said, "I just think that we need to talk. None of us want to be here and the only way to resolve this is to sit down and talk and to iron out the differences. I don’t think that there is any other way to do this other than to sit down and talk." He added, "The American people did elect this president, but the American people also elected a Republican Congress. So we have a divided government because the American people voted that way. They expect us to sit down and work things out and work together." Cantor did not think the public was concerned much with partisan politics, despite the shutdown. He said, "I don’t think that the working moms and dads and families in Richmond are waking up thinking about the Republican Party, the Democrat Party, they’re worried about their financial security, their health care security and frankly our nation’s security."

Cantor planned to place his pay in escrow for the duration of the shutdown.

Immigration

Morton Memos Prohibition

Cantor supported House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain individuals residing in the United States without legal status. The vote largely followed party lines.

Healthcare

Repealing Obamacare

Cantor supported all attempts to repeal or delay the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Catastrophic coverage

Cantor blasted the decision in December 2013 that would allow people who lost their health care as a result of the ACA to purchase catastrophic insurance policies no matter their age. Cantor said, "Our entire health care system can't be fundamentally changed at any given time subject to the random impulses of President Obama. The White House actions clearly prove ObamaCare can't work as designed. It's time for ObamaCare to be delayed for all."

Social issues

Abortion

Cantor supported HR 1797 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The resolution passed the House on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 228 - 196. The purpose of the bill was to ban abortions that would take place 20 or more weeks after fertilization.

Previous congressional sessions

Fiscal Cliff

Cantor voted against the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was 1 of 151 Republicans that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257 - 167 vote on January 1, 2013.

Issues

Earmarks

Cantor began abstaining from earmarks in 2004, but he was joined by four other Republican U.S. representatives in 2010. In March 2010, House Republicans passed a year-long ban on all earmarking. This meant all Republicans were to abstain from approving money within appropriations bills aimed for specific programs, states or localities. Republicans announced another moratorium for fiscal year 2012.

Comments on Randel's arrest

Although Cantor had previously said there should be "zero-tolerance" for ethics violations within the Republican Party, a statement made by an aide suggested a softer stance following Representative Trey Radel's arrest and guilty plea for cocaine possession. Cantor's aide said Cantor was "glad he is seeking treatment and encourages him in his recovery. This is clearly a difficult time for him and his family."

2016 presidential endorsement

✓ Cantor endorsed Jeb Bush for the Republican primary in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

See also: Endorsements for Jeb Bush

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Eric Cantor endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.

Elections

2014

See also: Virginia's 7th Congressional District elections, 2014

Cantor ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent Virginia's 7th District. Cantor was defeated by David Brat in the Republican primary on June 10, 2014.

U.S. House, Virginia District 7 Republican Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
David Brat	55.5%	36,110
Eric Cantor Incumbent	44.5%	28,898
Total Votes		65,008
Source: Results via Associated Press

Unprecedented loss

An unprecedented loss by Cantor gave him the dubious distinction of being the first-ever sitting House Majority Leader to lose a primary bid. Cantor was second in line in leadership behind Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH). The stunning upset victory by Randolf-Macon College professor David Brat put Republicans in the U.S. House into a leadership scramble.

Cantor spent over $1 million dollars in the last month of the election, compared to Brat, who barely raised $100,000 during the entire primary campaign, according to FEC filings.

Cantor faced heat from Virginia Republicans. In May 2014, Cantor was booed at the 7th District's Republican convention. This was his third contested primary race in his eight congressional elections. In 2000, Cantor won his first primary election by a margin of victory of only 0.6 percentage points. In 2012, he easily sailed to the general election with a 58.9 percentage point margin of victory.

Term limit irony

Ironically, Cantor, who stepped down as House Majority Leader, may have fallen victim to an anti-incumbent movement that he helped fund in the 2012 election cycle. In 2012, the Campaign for Primary Accountability was active in an Illinois GOP primary involving incumbent Don Manzullo and newcomer/challenger Adam Kinzinger. Cantor endorsed Kinzinger, and Cantor's PAC made a $25,000 contribution to the Campaign for Primary Accountability. Kinzinger won.

Voter turnout

Increased voter turnout in the Republican primary may have resulted in Cantor's defeat. In 2012, 47,037 votes were cast compared to 65,008 votes in the June 10, 2014, primary, an increase of 38.2 percent. Despite the tea party's high profile primaries in 2010 and 2012, Cantor was the highest-ranking Republican to lose a primary election since the movement's rise. He was also the first majority leader in history to lose a primary bid.

Virginia has an open primary process, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary. With the Democrats in the 7th District having already nominated their candidate at a convention on June 7, they were free to vote in the Republican primary. The 17,900 additional voters casting a ballot in the 2014 Republican primary relative to in 2012 could have been a result of Democrats voting in an attempt to unseat Cantor.

Media

Cantor's first primary ad, "Decision."

Cantor's second primary ad, "Advisor."

Cantor's first television ad of the 2014 primary, "Decision," began airing Wednesday, April 23. Cantor also released a similar radio ad.

Cantor's second ad, "Advisor," attacked, David Brat, by trying "to tie Brat to tax hikes proposed under then Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine." In addition, Cantor's campaign created a website exposing Brat's record.

2012

See also: Virginia's 7th Congressional District elections, 2012

Cantor won re-election. He defeated opponent Floyd Bayne in the June 12 Republican primary and E. Wayne Powell (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.

U.S. House, Virginia District 7 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	E. Wayne Powell	41.4%	158,012
	Republican	Eric Cantor Incumbent	58.4%	222,983
	Write-In	N/A	0.2%	914
Total Votes				381,909
Source: Virginia State Board of Elections "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

U.S. House, Virginia District 7 Republican Primary, 2012

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Eric Cantor Incumbent	79.4%	37,369
Floyd Bayne	20.6%	9,668
Total Votes		47,037

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Eric Cantor, click [show] to expand the section.

2010 On November 2, 2010, Eric Cantor won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Rick E. Waugh, Jr. (D) and Floyd C. Bayne (G) in the general election. U.S. House, Virginia District 7 General Election, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Eric Cantor incumbent 59.2% 138,209      Democratic Rick E. Waugh 34.1% 79,616      Green Floyd C. Bayne 6.5% 15,164      N/A Write-in 0.2% 413 Total Votes 233,402 2008 On November 4, 2008, Eric Cantor won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Anita Hartke (D) in the general election. U.S. House, Virginia District 7 General Election, 2008 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Eric Cantor incumbent 62.7% 233,531      Democratic Anita Hartke 37.1% 138,123      N/A Write-in 0.2% 683 Total Votes 372,337 2006 On November 7, 2006, Eric Cantor won re-election to the United States House. He defeated James M. Nachman (D) and W. Brad Blanton (I) in the general election. U.S. House, Virginia District 7 General Election, 2006 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Eric Cantor incumbent 63.8% 163,706      Democratic James M. Nachman 34.4% 88,206      Independent W. Brad Blanton 1.6% 4,213      N/A Write-in 0.1% 272 Total Votes 256,397 2004 On November 2, 2004, Eric Cantor won re-election to the United States House. He defeated W. Brad Blanton (independent) in the general election. U.S. House, Virginia District 7 General Election, 2004 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Eric Cantor incumbent 75.5% 230,765      Independent W. Brad Blanton 24.3% 74,325      N/A Write-in 0.2% 568 Total Votes 305,658 2002 On November 5, 2002, Eric Cantor won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Ben L. "Cooter" Jones (D) in the general election. U.S. House, Virginia District 7 General Election, 2002 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Eric Cantor incumbent 69.4% 113,658      Democratic Ben L. Cooter Jones 30.5% 49,854      N/A Write-in 0.1% 153 Total Votes 163,665 2000 On November 7, 2000, Eric Cantor won election to the United States House. He defeated Warren A. Stewart (D) in the general election. U.S. House, Virginia District 7 General Election, 2000 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Eric Cantor 66.9% 192,652      Democratic Warren A. Stewart 33% 94,935      N/A Write-in 0.1% 304 Total Votes 287,891

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Eric Cantor campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2012	U.S. House (Virginia, District 7)	Won	$7,632,717	N/A**
Grand total			$7,632,717	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Personal Gain Index

See also: Personal Gain Index (U.S. Congress)

The Personal Gain Index (U.S. Congress) is a two-part measurement that illustrates the extent to which members of the U.S. Congress have prospered during their tenure as public servants.
It consists of two different metrics:

• Changes in Net Worth
• The Donation Concentration Metric

PGI: Change in net worth

See also: Changes in Net Worth of U.S. Senators and Representatives (Personal Gain Index) and Net worth of United States Senators and Representatives

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Cantor's net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $4,438,113 to $14,251,999. That averages to $9,345,056, which was higher than the average net worth of Republican House members in 2012 of $7,614,097.96. Cantor ranked as the 47th most wealthy representative in 2012. Between 2004 and 2012, Cantor‘s calculated net worth increased by an average of 14 percent per year. Between 2004 and 2012, the average annual percentage increase for a member of Congress was 15.4 percent.

Eric Cantor Yearly Net Worth
Year	Average Net Worth
2004	$4,328,220
2012	$9,345,056
Growth from 2004 to 2012:	116%
Average annual growth:	14%
Comparatively, the American citizen experienced a median yearly decline in net worth of -0.94%.

The data used to calculate changes in net worth may include changes resulting from assets gained through marriage, inheritance, changes in family estates and/or trusts, changes in family business ownership, and many other variables unrelated to a member's behavior in Congress.

Wife's board membership compensation

Cantor's wife, Diana, received $283,855 in compensation from her position on the boards of Domino's and Media General. In June 2013, it was announced that she was elected to the board of the cosmetics company Revlon. The chairman of Revlon, Ronald Perelman, donated over $47,300 to Cantor's campaigns.

Analysis

Ideology and leadership

See also: GovTrack's Political Spectrum & Legislative Leadership ranking

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Cantor was a "moderate Republican leader," as of July 2, 2013.

Like-minded colleagues

The website OpenCongress tracks the voting records of each member to determine with whom he or she voted most and least often. The results include a member from each party.

Cantor most often votes with:

• Charles Fleischmann
• John Barrow

Cantor least often votes with:

• Chris Gibson
• James McGovern

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, Cantor missed 350 of 8,664 roll call votes from January 2001 to April 2013. This amounts to 4.0 percent, which is worse than the median of 2.2 percent among congressional representatives as of April 2013.

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Cantor paid his congressional staff a total of $1,095,474 in 2011. Overall, Virginia ranked 29th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year.

2012

Cantor was one of two members who ranked 66th in the conservative rankings in 2012.

2011

Cantor ranked 73rd in the conservative rankings in 2011.

Voting with party

July 2013

Cantor voted with the Republican Party 95.6 percent of the time, which ranked 66th among the 234 House Republican members as of July 2013.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Cantor and his wife, Diana, have three children.

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term Eric + Cantor + Virginia + House

Eric Cantor News Feed

See also

• Virginia's 7th Congressional District
• Virginia's 7th Congressional District elections, 2014
• United States congressional delegations from Virginia

External links

 

• Official Majority Leader website
• Official House website
• Official campaign website

• Social media:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
• Biographies:
  • U.S. Congress
  • NNDB
  • Wikipedia
• Political profiles:
  • GovTrack
  • CongressMerge
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Roll Call
• Financial (federal level):
  • FEC contributions
  • OpenSecrets.org
  • LegiStorm.com
  • Washington Post
• Financial (state level):
  • Follow The Money
• Interest group ratings:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions:
  • On The Issues
  • Project Vote Smart
• Public statements:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Voting record:
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Washington Post
• Works by or about:
  • WorldCat
• Media appearances:
  • C-SPAN
  • IMDb
• Media coverage:
  • Bloomberg
  • Guardian
  • New York Times
  • Wall Street Journal
  • Washington Post

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• Fact-checking at PolitiFact
• Collected news and commentary at Daily Caller
• Collected news and commentary at Salon
• Collected news and commentary at U.S. News & World Report
• Collected news and commentary at Washington Times

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Tom Bliley	U.S. House of Representatives - Virginia, 7th District 2001-August 18, 2014	Succeeded by '
Preceded by '	Virginia House of Delegates 1992-2001	Succeeded by '

[show]

Virginia's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Tim Kaine (D)

Mark Warner (D)

Representatives

District 1

Rob Wittman (R)

District 2

Jennifer Kiggans (R)

District 3

Bobby Scott (D)

District 4

Jennifer McClellan (D)

District 5

John McGuire (R)

District 6

Benjamin Lee Cline (R)

District 7

Eugene Vindman (D)

District 8

Donald Sternoff Beyer (D)

District 9

H. Morgan Griffith (R)

District 10

Suhas Subramanyam (D)

District 11

Gerald Edward Connolly (D)

Democratic Party (8)

Republican Party (5)