By NEIL H. SIMON, Media General News Service
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WASHINGTON—Rep. Eric Cantor is on a roll.
He’s won all four of his elections to Congress with at least 63 percent of the vote.
And at 45 years old, he’s been mentioned as a future Speaker of the House or even as a running mate for Sen. John McCain.
But Virginia’s youngest member of Congress gives no indication he’s looking for anything other than reelection to his fifth term in Congress this November.
“I think it’s funny,” Cantor said about the talk of his political future. “I’m very focused and honored to have been elected congressman.”
Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in the House, is often tapped to help his party reach out to Jewish voters, who typically vote Democratic.
And as the Chief Deputy Republican Whip -- appointed in 2002 – he’s now recruiting young GOP candidates to challenge House Democrats.
But even as he seeks to rebuild the Republican Party in what is seen as an incredibly tough election cycle for the GOP, Cantor said he is looking beyond partisanship.
“We’re really in a post-partisan environment,” he said. “People are sick and tired of Washington and the inability of it to address the real challenges facing this country.”
Cantor, a lawyer who worked in his family’s Richmond real estate office, and served nine years in the Virginia House of Delegates, is a constant advocate for lowering taxes as an antidote for almost any economic concern.
But this year, he said, the election will be dominated by gas prices.
Cantor favors drilling off shore to increase domestic oil supply to bring prices down in the short term. He also supports tax policy to create incentives for alternative energy investments to help wean the U.S. from foreign oil in the long term.
Bob Holsworth, a political scientist at Virginia Commonwealth University, said Cantor’s conservative stances on economics and support for President Bush’s war policy fit the 7th district.
“He’s not a politician who explicitly tries to develop extraordinary cross over appeal,” Holsworth said.
That’s why Democrats view Cantor as overly partisan.
“Given his leadership position, he’s chosen to lead other Republicans against bipartisan solutions for the country,” said Kyra Jennings, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Virginia’s 7th, which stretches from Richmond up through Shenandoah National Park and includes James Madison’s Montpelier home is about as safe a district as Republicans can get.
“You could hang around in Chesterfield and Henrico and win it that way,” said former Virginia Republican Party executive director J. Kenneth Klinge. “But he doesn’t play it that way. He goes out and finds out what everyone thinks.”
Cantor’s last close election was the 2000 Republican congressional primary, the first year he ran. He beat State Sen. Stephen Martin by 238 votes. He hasn’t had a primary challenge since.
In November he faces Democrat Anita Hartke, a Culpeper real estate broker.
Some say Cantor could become Speaker of the House if he can outlast the dismal Republican political climate and help his party win back the majority.
“It just depends on what he wants to do,” said Republican strategist John Hishta.
“If he’s the type of guy who wants to make the House his career he could be Speaker.”
This spring Cantor challenged his House colleagues to follow his lead and swear off any congressionally-directed local spending projects – often called earmarks.
Few heeded his call, but the move showed Cantor is comfortable taking a standing on his own.
“Eric has a great future in the House,” said outgoing Rep. Tom Davis III, R-11th in an interview at the time. “He understands the conservative nature of the membership here.”
But Cantor insists his focus remains on his own job security. He and his wife Diana have three teenagers, and with college tuition bills on the horizon, he’d like to keep his job in Congress.
“You never take anything for granted and this year is no exception,” Cantor said.
THE CANTOR FILE
Name: Eric I. Cantor
Age: 45
Hometown: Richmond
Current Residence: Glen Allen
Education: Columbia University, MS, 1989
College of William and Mary, JD, 1988
George Washington University, BA 1985
Career: attorney
Member, Virginia House of Delegates 1992-2000
Member, U.S. House of Representatives, 2000-present
Chief Deputy Republican Whip, 2002-present
Family: wife, Diana; children, Evan, Jenna Michael
Religion: Jewish
He’s won all four of his elections to Congress with at least 63 percent of the vote.
And at 45 years old, he’s been mentioned as a future Speaker of the House or even as a running mate for Sen. John McCain.
But Virginia’s youngest member of Congress gives no indication he’s looking for anything other than reelection to his fifth term in Congress this November.
“I think it’s funny,” Cantor said about the talk of his political future. “I’m very focused and honored to have been elected congressman.”
Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in the House, is often tapped to help his party reach out to Jewish voters, who typically vote Democratic.
And as the Chief Deputy Republican Whip -- appointed in 2002 – he’s now recruiting young GOP candidates to challenge House Democrats.
But even as he seeks to rebuild the Republican Party in what is seen as an incredibly tough election cycle for the GOP, Cantor said he is looking beyond partisanship.
“We’re really in a post-partisan environment,” he said. “People are sick and tired of Washington and the inability of it to address the real challenges facing this country.”
Cantor, a lawyer who worked in his family’s Richmond real estate office, and served nine years in the Virginia House of Delegates, is a constant advocate for lowering taxes as an antidote for almost any economic concern.
But this year, he said, the election will be dominated by gas prices.
Cantor favors drilling off shore to increase domestic oil supply to bring prices down in the short term. He also supports tax policy to create incentives for alternative energy investments to help wean the U.S. from foreign oil in the long term.
Bob Holsworth, a political scientist at Virginia Commonwealth University, said Cantor’s conservative stances on economics and support for President Bush’s war policy fit the 7th district.
“He’s not a politician who explicitly tries to develop extraordinary cross over appeal,” Holsworth said.
That’s why Democrats view Cantor as overly partisan.
“Given his leadership position, he’s chosen to lead other Republicans against bipartisan solutions for the country,” said Kyra Jennings, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Virginia’s 7th, which stretches from Richmond up through Shenandoah National Park and includes James Madison’s Montpelier home is about as safe a district as Republicans can get.
“You could hang around in Chesterfield and Henrico and win it that way,” said former Virginia Republican Party executive director J. Kenneth Klinge. “But he doesn’t play it that way. He goes out and finds out what everyone thinks.”
Cantor’s last close election was the 2000 Republican congressional primary, the first year he ran. He beat State Sen. Stephen Martin by 238 votes. He hasn’t had a primary challenge since.
In November he faces Democrat Anita Hartke, a Culpeper real estate broker.
Some say Cantor could become Speaker of the House if he can outlast the dismal Republican political climate and help his party win back the majority.
“It just depends on what he wants to do,” said Republican strategist John Hishta.
“If he’s the type of guy who wants to make the House his career he could be Speaker.”
This spring Cantor challenged his House colleagues to follow his lead and swear off any congressionally-directed local spending projects – often called earmarks.
Few heeded his call, but the move showed Cantor is comfortable taking a standing on his own.
“Eric has a great future in the House,” said outgoing Rep. Tom Davis III, R-11th in an interview at the time. “He understands the conservative nature of the membership here.”
But Cantor insists his focus remains on his own job security. He and his wife Diana have three teenagers, and with college tuition bills on the horizon, he’d like to keep his job in Congress.
“You never take anything for granted and this year is no exception,” Cantor said.
THE CANTOR FILE
Name: Eric I. Cantor
Age: 45
Hometown: Richmond
Current Residence: Glen Allen
Education: Columbia University, MS, 1989
College of William and Mary, JD, 1988
George Washington University, BA 1985
Career: attorney
Member, Virginia House of Delegates 1992-2000
Member, U.S. House of Representatives, 2000-present
Chief Deputy Republican Whip, 2002-present
Family: wife, Diana; children, Evan, Jenna Michael
Religion: Jewish