RICHMOND, VA – An economics professor backed by the Tea Party scored a shocking runaway victory Tuesday night over a high-ranked establishment politician in a Republican primary for the Virginia 7th District seat in Congress.
Dave Brat beat House Majority Leader Eric Cantor 56% to 44%. Cantor was considered by many to be a rising star and held in high regard by many, including House Speaker John Boehner. He has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2001.
“It was a miracle. God gave us this win,” Brat told Fox News.
The main issue in the campaign was immigration. Brat said Cantor wanted to give amnesty to thousands of illegal aliens, which Cantor denied. “I reject any proposal that grants amnesty,” Brat says. Brat also said that the Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare” is “economically disastrous” and the national debt is out of control. He supports a full audit of the Federal Reserve System. On the gun issue, Brat says he opposes “any efforts to undermine or limit the Constitutional right to bear arms.”
Leading up to the election, Cantor vastly out-raised and out-spent Brat. The difference in dollars didn’t matter after the votes were counted.
Brat is considered an expert in economics and calls himself a strong Christian. He earned a B.A. in Business Administration from Hope College, a Masters in Divinity from Princeton Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Economics from American University.
The Brat campaign said Wednesday that “in the coming days, we will focus our attention on the general election in November. But for today, we will celebrate the primary election of a good and decent and trustworthy man, Dave Brat.”
