Dem Chair: Cantor Loss Shows Tea Party In Control Of GOP

FILE - This Aug. 23, 2013 file photo shows Democratic National Committee chair, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida, speaks to party members during their summer meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz. Millionaires and bi... FILE - This Aug. 23, 2013 file photo shows Democratic National Committee chair, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida, speaks to party members during their summer meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz. Millionaires and billionaires are increasing their influence in federal elections, forcing the parties to play more limited roles, and raising questions about who sets the agenda in campaigns. In a handful of key Senate races, the biggest and loudest players so far are well-funded groups that don’t answer to any candidate or political party-such as the conservative billionaire Koch brothers. Some veteran lawmakers worry about the clout of the Republican and Democratic parties, which have dominated U.S. politics since the Civil War. The recent Supreme Court ruling appears unlikely to reduce the role that outside groups are playing. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File) MORE LESS
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Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) said that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-VA) loss to tea party challenger David Brat in the Republican primary for Cantor’s district shows that the tea party controls the Republican Party.

Here’s Wasserman Schultz’s statement:

Tonight’s result in Virginia settles the debate once and for all – the Tea Party has taken control of the Republican Party. Period. When Eric Cantor, who time and again has blocked common sense legislation to grow the middle class, can’t earn the Republican nomination, it’s clear the GOP has redefined ‘far right.’ Democrats on the other hand have nominated a mainstream candidate who will proudly represent this district and I look forward to his victory in November.

Cantor lost to economics professor David Brat.

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