The Republican (Tea) Party

Although the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party was said to be on the decline, the recent news that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost in his state's primary election to a non-professional politician indicates otherwise. The BBC has a report here.

Eric Cantor.
Picture Credit: The Guardian / Reuters

The important point to make is that Cantor was one of the most important Republicans in Congress, and a defeat in a primary election for a politician of his seniority and in his post has never happened before.

For G and P students studying Unit 3C and 4C this is great stuff, as it can be used as an example of how primary elections are in fact the important votes in a majority of US House elections.

The BBC's Mark Mardell has more here; where he discusses how the Tea Party wing are still against any form of compromise, and all that entails. Eric Cantor lost the vote, despite vastly outspending his opponent, an Economics professor called David Bratt.

More from the Washington Post here.

Important for G and P students as they contemplate the impact on the Republican Party and its policies in the run up to the mid-terms and the start of the 2016 Presidential campaign; will the party lurch more to the right? Unsolicited advice for the Republicans can be found here, in the Huffington Post, and here in Politico.