Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va.
The defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., in his primary late today killed any chance that the House of Representatives will take up immigration reform this year and could affect other legislative and political issues, the Cook Political Report and The New York Times said in stories this evening.

“In one of the biggest House primary earthquakes of all time, GOP House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor lost renomination tonight to Randolph Macon College economics professor Dave Brat, 55 percent to 45 percent,” David Wasserman, the Cook Political Report’s House analyst, wrote to subscribers.

Brat’s win, Wasserman added, “speaks to the GOP primary electorate’s distrust for the Republican leadership’s flirtations with immigration reform. If an immigration bill wasn’t already dead in the House, it is now.”

Wasserman noted that because Virginia has what is known as a “sore loser provision,” Cantor cannot run as an independent in the November general election.

“The provision is somewhat ambiguous as to whether Cantor could mount a write-in bid,” Wasserman said.

“However, the presence of three other candidates on the ballot, including Democratic Randolph Macon professor Jack Trammell, one Libertarian, and one Independent Green, would complicate such an effort.”

The Cook Political Report continues to rank the district as “solid Republican,” but Wasserman added, “If Cantor were unable or unwilling to write a long-shot write-in campaign, a fierce fight for his House GOP leadership slot could ensue immediately.”

Cantor was considered the most likely successor to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. Wassserman told the Times that the message was that the House should be run by more conservative leaders.

Here is the “sore loser provision” cited in the Virginia state code:

§ 24.2-520. Declaration of candidacy required.

A candidate for nomination by primary for any office shall be required to file a written declaration of candidacy on a form prescribed by the state board. The declaration shall include the name of the political party of which the candidate is a member, a designation of the office for which he is a candidate, and a statement that, if defeated in the primary, his name is not to be printed on the ballots for that office in the succeeding general election. The declaration shall be acknowledged before some officer who has the authority to take acknowledgments to deeds, or attested by two witnesses who are qualified voters of the election district.

Brat had only $200,000 to defeat Cantor, who had $5.4 million in his campaign kitty, The New York Times reported.

Cantor’s defeat recalls the losses of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and House Speaker Tom Foley, D-Wash., but those were in general elections. The only major politician in recent times to salvage a primary defeat with a write-in campaign is Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

▪ The Cook Political Report — VA-07: In Shocker, Cantor Loses Primary
▪ The New York Times — Eric Cantor Defeated by David Brat, Tea Party Challenger, in Primary Upset