WASHINGTON - Even as condolences poured in Wednesday for Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House majority leader defeated in a primary election, the plotting had already begun to replace him in the Republican leadership, and possibly not stop there.
Mr. Cantor was stunned Tuesday night when David Brat, an energetic Tea Party challenger with little financing, defeated him soundly in the Virginia district around Richmond that he had hoped would be a durable base to eventually assume the speakership of the House. It was a signal of his fraught relationship with Speaker John A. Boehner that the speaker opened his postelection statement by saying, 'Eric Cantor and I have been through a lot together.'
'He's a good friend and a great leader,' he continued.
Mr. Brat, a college professor, cast Mr. Cantor as part of the problem in politics today. 'Right now we have too many mini princes in D.C.,' he said in an interview on MSNBC.
He also showed why his newfound acclaim will also lead to difficult questions on issues. When asked on MSNBC whether he opposed a minimum wage, he responded 'Um, I don't have a well-crafted response on that one.'
Pressure was already building overnight on Mr. Cantor to step down from his No. 2 post in the leadership now rather than wait until after the November election, though some House Republicans were pushing back on their colleagues' ambitions.
'It may be to their own detriment to be impolitely ambitious right now,' said Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina. 'And whoever runs will need to explain precisely what Eric did wrong. He was very popular within the conference. That doesn't help win a district in Virginia, but he was very popular in our conference.'
The push and pull could create what David Wasserman, the House political analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, called 'a free for all' of a leadership race that could threaten members all the way to Mr. Boehner. It also would freeze any prospects of legislative progress for the rest of the year for a Congress that already is on track to be the least productive in history, while emboldening the Tea Party faction.
Tea Party groups had actually rebuffed the appeals of Mr. Brat for money, but on Wednesday were all claiming victory on his behalf. Groups like Club For Growth and the Tea Party Patriots had largely stayed out of the race, which almost no one gave him a chance of winning.
'I'm concerned the Ted Cruzes of the world, the Rand Pauls of the world are going to use this as an excuse to basically stop the government from functioning,' Representative Peter T. King, Republican of New York, said on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' program Wednesday.
Conservative Republicans from solidly red states will push for representation - if not domination - in a leadership now occupied by members from Ohio, Virginia, California, and Washington, states that all voted for President Obama.
Representative Jeb Hensarling of Texas is expected to challenge the current No. 3 Republican, the majority whip Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, for Mr. Cantor's slot. Fellow Texan Pete Sessions could also join the fray. Representatives Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the leader of the conservative Republican Study Committee, and Peter Roskam of Illinois, Mr. McCarthy's chief deputy, would likely square off for the post of House majority whip.
Representative Tom Price of Georgia, the member who first called for 'red state' representation, will also be in the mix. Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, perhaps one of the strongest candidates for a leadership run, appears to be leaning toward assuming the chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee.
Mr. McCarthy, with one eye already fixed on Mr. Cantor's job, said Wednesday, 'As many already know, Eric is not just my colleague but one of my closest friends. Few have fought harder or have accomplished more in the pursuit of solutions-based polices to better the lives of Americans than Eric Cantor. Eric's dedication and work ethic were essential to Republicans taking back the House in 2010 and steering the accomplishments of this majority every day since. Every single member of this conference is indebted to Eric's graciousness and leadership.'
While there will be no shortage of possible contenders in a body with tremendously low seniority, leading a large and diverse conference can look better from afar.
'There are a variety of people who could do this,' said Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, one of the more conservative House members. 'We don't lack for talent to do this, but you have to remember this is a tremendously difficult position. It is fraught with peril as Mr. Cantor experienced.'
However those races are decided, the new leadership will be even more conservative than in the Cantor days, which were marked by impasses with the Obama White House and divisions within Republican ranks.
Mr. Cantor was the leadership face of the rowdy class of 2011 freshmen who often worked at counterpurposes with Mr. Boehner to block compromises with Democrats. Mr. Cantor and his staff often schemed behind the speaker's back during much of that Congress, egging on newcomers to resist Mr. Boehner's efforts to negotiate with the Senate on fiscal matters and generally undermining his leadership.
After President Obama handily defeated Mitt Romney in 2012, however, Mr. Cantor was somewhat chastened and sought to recast himself, and his conference, as gentle conservatives concerned with poverty, education and other social issues. His embrace of citizenship for young immigrants without legal status who were brought to the country as children may have been his undoing. Mr. Brat made Mr. Cantor's 'softness' on immigration the primary policy focus of the race.
Frequently, Mr. Brat's megaphone was the conservative radio show host Laura Ingraham, who was harshly critical of Mr. Cantor's positions on immigration.
Mr. Cantor proclaimed in a flyer that he was 'stopping the Obama-Reid plan to give illegal aliens amnesty,' despite his past public embrace of granting citizenship to some illegal immigrants. He blocked House consideration of legislation that would have granted legal status for those immigrants who enlist in the military. And he dropped mentioning his support for more visas for high-tech workers.
Ms. Ingraham and Mr. Brat did not let that take hold however.
'The crisis at the border is growing every minute, every hour, every day. No House Congressman has done more to encourage illegal immigration than Eric Cantor, who claims amnesty is required by the 'the great founding principles of our nation,' Mr. Brat proclaimed Monday. 'Tomorrow, we can restore our borders, rebuild our communities, and revitalize our middle class.'
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