In June 2014, in his bid for reelection, Cantor lost the Republican primary to economics professor Dave Brat in an upset that greatly surprised political analysts.

[1][2] At the time of his resignation, Cantor was the highest-ranking Jewish member of Congress in its history and the only non-Christian Republican in either house.

[9] He earned a Juris Doctor degree from William & Mary Law School in 1988, and received a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from Columbia University in 1989.

[10] At various times he was a member of committees on Science and Technology, Corporation Insurance and Banking, General Laws, Courts of Justice, (co-chairman) Claims.

[12][13] 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.

[14] However, Cantor still faced an extremely spirited challenge in the primary and won that election by only a razor-thin margin of 263 votes out of over 40,000 cast.

[3][16] 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.

[27] Cantor said that the bill "clearly reflects Congressional priorities in funding: medical research before political parties and conventions".

"[33] Cantor was criticized for engaging in foreign policy;[34] one basis for the criticism was that in 2007, after Nancy Pelosi met with the president of Syria, Cantor himself had raised the possibility "that her recent diplomatic overtures ran afoul of the Logan Act, which makes it a felony for any American 'without authority of the United States' to communicate with a foreign government to influence that government's behavior on any disputes with the United States.

He was rated 100% by the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) and 0% by NARAL Pro-Choice America, indicating a pro-life voting record.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) rated him 19% in 2006, indicating an anti-affirmative action voting record.

[36][37] On November 2, 2010, Cantor told Wolf Blitzer of CNN that he would try to trim the federal deficit by reducing welfare.

Cantor voted in favor of a 90% marginal tax rate increase on taxpayer financed bonuses,[42] despite receiving campaign contributions from TARP recipient Citigroup.

[43] In his book Young Guns, Cantor summarized Keynesian economics with the following opinion, "The idea is that the government can be counted on to spend more wisely than the people.

[48] As majority leader, Cantor shepherded the JOBS Act through the House, which combined bipartisan ideas for economic growth – like crowdfunding for startups – into one piece of legislation.

Ultimately, President Obama, Eric Cantor, Steve Case and other leaders joined together at the signing ceremony.

[50] In an article he wrote for the National Review in 2007, he condemned Nancy Pelosi's diplomatic visit to Syria, and her subsequent meeting with President Bashar al-Assad, whom he referred to as a "dictator and terror-sponsor"; saying that if "Speaker Pelosi's diplomatic foray into Syria weren't so harmful to U.S. interests in the Middle East, it would have been laughable.

"[51] In 2014, 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.

[54] 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.

[citation needed] Cantor was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, succeeding retiring 20-year incumbent Republican Tom Bliley.

In 2002, Cantor was opposed by Democrat Ben Jones, an actor (who had played "Cooter Davenport" on The Dukes of Hazzard) and a former congressman from Georgia.

[59][60][61] The idea for Cantor to be McCain's running mate was supported by conservative leaders like Richard Land and Erick Erickson.

[citation needed] On June 10, 2014, in a major upset, Cantor lost the Republican primary by 7,193 votes to Dave Brat, a Tea Party candidate and a professor at Randolph-Macon College.

"[74] One local reporter told David Carr of The New York Times that many constituents believed Cantor was arrogant and unapproachable.

Few Capitol Hill reporters were willing to go to Cantor's district, for fear that they would be out of Washington in case a major story broke.

[72] Following his primary defeat, Cantor announced his resignation as House Majority Leader effective on July 31 and declared that he would not run in the general election.

[78] After the passage of the health care reform bill in March 2010, Cantor reported that somebody had shot a bullet through a window of his campaign office in Richmond, Virginia.