Eric Ivan Cantor was born on June 6,1963 and is an American lawyer and former politician who represented Virginia's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2014.
53 Facts About Eric Cantor
2.
In June 2014, in his bid for reelection, Eric Cantor lost the Republican primary to economics professor Dave Brat in an upset that greatly surprised political analysts.
3.
At the time of his resignation, Eric Cantor was the highest-ranking Jewish member of Congress in its history and the only non-Christian Republican in either house.
4.
Eric Cantor, the second of three children, was born in Richmond, Virginia, the son of Mary Lee, a schoolteacher, and Eddie Eric Cantor, who owned a real estate firm.
5.
Eric Cantor's family emigrated from Russia, Romania, and Latvia in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
6.
Eric Cantor's father was the state treasurer for Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign.
7.
Eric Cantor graduated from the Collegiate School, a co-ed private school in Richmond, in 1981.
8.
Eric Cantor enrolled at George Washington University in 1981; as a freshman he worked as an intern for House Republican Tom Bliley of Virginia, and was Bliley's driver in the 1982 campaign.
9.
Eric Cantor was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity while at GW and received his Bachelor of Arts in 1985.
10.
Eric Cantor worked in his family's real estate business before being elected to Congress.
11.
Eric Cantor served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1992 to January 1,2001.
12.
Eric Cantor announced on March 14,2000, that he would seek the seat in the United States House of Representatives that was being vacated by Tom Bliley.
13.
Eric Cantor had chaired Bliley's reelection campaigns for the previous six years, and immediately gained the support of Bliley's political organization, as well as Bliley's endorsement later in the primary.
14.
Eric Cantor has served on the House Financial Services Committee and on the House International Relations Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.
15.
In 2002, weeks after winning a second term, Eric Cantor was appointed by Republican Whip Roy Blunt to be Chief Deputy Republican Whip, the highest appointed position in the Republican caucus.
16.
On November 19,2008, Eric Cantor was unanimously elected Republican Whip for the 111th Congress, after serving as Deputy Whip for six years under Blunt.
17.
Eric Cantor was the first member of either party from Virginia to hold the position of Party Whip.
18.
Eric Cantor was charged with coordinating the votes and messages of Republican House members.
19.
Eric Cantor became the Majority Leader when the 112th Congress took office on January 3,2011, after Republicans took back control of the House of Representatives.
20.
Eric Cantor was a member of the Republican Jewish Coalition and the Republican National Committee.
21.
Eric Cantor is one of the three founding members of the GOP Young Guns Program.
22.
Eric Cantor said in 2010 that he worked with the Tea Party movement in his district.
23.
Eric Cantor was a strong supporter of the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, which he was the one to name in Gabriella Miller's honor.
24.
Eric Cantor said that the bill "clearly reflects Congressional priorities in funding: medical research before political parties and conventions".
25.
For much of his career in the House, Eric Cantor was the only Jewish Republican in the United States Congress.
26.
Eric Cantor cosponsored legislation to cut off all US taxpayer aid to the Palestinian Authority and another bill calling for an end to taxpayer aid to the Palestinians until they stop unauthorized excavations on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
27.
Eric Cantor opposed public funding of embryonic stem cell research and opposed elective abortion.
28.
Eric Cantor was opposed to same-sex marriage as of the mid-2000s, voting to Constitutionally define marriage as between a male and a female in 2006.
29.
Eric Cantor was opposed to gun control, voting to ban product misuse lawsuits on gun manufacturers in 2005, and he voted not to require gun registration and trigger-lock laws in the District of Columbia.
30.
Eric Cantor had a rating of "A" from the National Rifle Association.
31.
On November 2,2010, Eric Cantor told Wolf Blitzer of CNN that he would try to trim the federal deficit by reducing welfare.
32.
Eric Cantor was a supporter of free trade, voting to promote trade with Peru, Chile, Singapore, and Australia.
33.
Eric Cantor voted for the Central America Free Trade Agreement.
34.
Eric Cantor voted against raising the minimum wage to US$7.25 in 2007.
35.
In October 2008, Eric Cantor advocated and voted for the TARP program which aided distressed banks.
36.
Eric Cantor noted that 94 Democrats voted against the measure, as well as 133 Republicans.
37.
Eric Cantor proposed initiatives which he purported would help small businesses grow, including a 20 percent tax cut for businesses that employ fewer than 500 people.
38.
In 2014, Eric Cantor criticized what he referred to as "the isolationist sentiment" and said that it was a mistake to withdraw from Iraq and had called for troops to remain in Afghanistan.
39.
Eric Cantor formerly represented Virginia's 7th congressional district, which stretches from the western end of Richmond, through its suburbs, and northward to Page, Rappahannock Culpeper and parts of Spotsylvania, county.
40.
Eric Cantor was first elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1991, winning the race for the 73rd district seat unopposed.
41.
Eric Cantor won re-election in 1995,1997, and 1999; in all three races he was unopposed.
42.
Eric Cantor was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 2000, succeeding retiring 20-year incumbent Republican Tom Bliley.
43.
Eric Cantor defeated the Democratic nominee, Warren A Stewart, by nearly 100,000 votes.
44.
In 2002, Eric Cantor was opposed by Democrat Ben Jones, an actor and a former congressman from Georgia.
45.
In 2004, Cantor was opposed by Independent W B Blanton.
46.
In 2006, Cantor was opposed by Democrat James M Nachman and Independent W B Blanton.
47.
The idea for Cantor to be McCain's running mate was supported by conservative leaders like Richard Land and Erick Erickson.
48.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported two weeks before the primary that a number of Eric Cantor's constituents felt he took them for granted.
49.
Eric Cantor responded to this by saying that Democratic leaders in the House should stop "dangerously fanning the flames" by blaming Republicans for threats against House Democrats who voted for the health care legislation.
50.
Eric Cantor reported that he had received threatening e-mails related to the passage of the bill.
51.
Eric Cantor met his wife, Diana Marcy Fine, on a blind date; and they were married in 1989.
52.
Eric Cantor founded, and from 1996 until 2008 was executive director of, the Virginia College Savings Plan.
53.
Eric Cantor was chairman of the board of the College Savings Plans Network.