[StBernard] Scalise may benefit from Virginia upset

[Westley Annis]

Scalise may benefit from Virginia upset
Updated: Jun 11, 2014 1:00 PM CDT
Written by: FOX8Live.com Staff - email
 
NEW ORLEANS, LA (WVUE) -
A big political upset in the Republican primary in Virginia Tuesday night
means Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise could move up in the U.S. House
leadership ranks.

The fall of No. 2 House Republican Eric Cantor has rocked the party
leadership. TV stations in Richmond had to rush to catch the speeches of the
two candidates - because nobody was covering the race.

But speculation immediately turned to who fills the void. The N.Y. Times,
Politico and others speculated that Scalise will try to move up in the
ranks.

On Wednesday, the National Journal quoted two sources as saying that Scalise
will run for House minority whip, the No. 3 job behind the speaker and
majority leader.

Scalise now chairs the powerful Republican Study Committee, which is the
main voice of conservatives in the House.

As for Cantor, his defeat is a bombshell. It's apparently the first time a
majority leader has been knocked off in a re-election bid since the office
was created in 1899 - when McKinley was president.

In his concession speech Tuesday night, Cantor, who was the most
conservative member of the top leadership, tried to rally conservative
voters.

"We wanna create a Virginia and America that works for everybody, and we
need to focus our efforts as conservatives as Republicans on putting forth
our conservative solutions," Cantor said.

Analysts said Cantor realized too late that he was in trouble, and that
little-known economics professor David Brat posed a serious challenge.

One of the beneficiaries could be Scalise. The Republican Study Committee
has 172 members. That doesn't mean all of them fall in line - but it
certainly gives him a platform.