Eric Cantor
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
For the highest-ranking Jewish representative in Congress, elections are mainly about helping others. Majority leader Eric Cantor crisscrossed the country this election year, helping out struggling fellow Republicans with a boost of energy and campaign cash.
At 49, Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in Congress, has established himself as a political powerhouse mentioned in any shortlist of future GOP leaders. The leap of close friend and fellow Republican “Young Gun” Paul Ryan to the presidential ticket also highlighted Cantor’s bright future in the party.
But Cantor’s rise to the second-ranking position in the House of Representatives has also come at some political cost. With Congress, and especially House Republicans, being portrayed as obstructionists and blamed by the public for a stalemate in Washington, Cantor has taken a hit. Though he easily won reelection in his home district in Richmond, Va., Cantor was forced to defend himself from claims that he is part of the Washington political machine.
In Jewish politics, nonetheless, Cantor’s stardom has not diminished, and he is the most sought-after speaker at events hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition. Speaking at fundraisers and Jewish political gatherings, Cantor often expresses his wish to lose his exclusive status as the only Jewish Republican on Capitol Hill and to see other Jewish GOP members get elected to office.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
