The only Jewish Republican member of the US House of Representatives, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, was defeated by an internal challenger on Tuesday night in a primary election.
Cantor, the second most senior Republican in the House, who had been tipped to take over from the speaker, John Boehner, lost the opportunity to stand for re-election in his Virginia seat in a surprise defeat by the Tea Party candidate David Brat.
Speaker Boehner praised Cantor as "a good friend and a great leader".
Cantor’s rise made him the pride of politically conservative Jews. After a career in the Virginia legislature, he was elected to the House of Representatives in 2000 and made chief deputy whip just two years later, before his 40th birthday.
Cantor has said that his own background, as the grandchild of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, informed some of his views, according to JTA. Since 2009 he has been the only Republican Jewish member of Congress. He has delved into Jewish learning as he ascended to his party’s leadership, taking private lessons with rabbis.
