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Eric Cantor

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Eric Cantor
23rd Republican Whip of the United States House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2009
LeaderJohn Boehner
Preceded byRoy Blunt
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 7th District
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2001
Preceded byTom Bliley
Personal details
Born (1963-06-06) June 6, 1963 (age 61)
Richmond, Virginia
Political partyRepublican
SpouseDiana Fine Cantor
ResidenceRichmond, Virginia
Alma materGeorge Washington University
College of William and Mary's Marshall-Wythe School of Law
Columbia University
ProfessionAttorney
real estate executive[1]

Eric Ivan Cantor (born June 6, 1963 in Richmond, Virginia) is the Republican representative of Virginia's 7th congressional district. On November 19, 2008, he was elected Republican Whip for the 111th Congress. He is currently the only Jewish Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives.[2][3]

Early Life and Education

He earned a B.A. at George Washington University (1985) where he was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity,[4] received his Juris Doctor from the College of William and Mary (1988), and received an M.S. in real estate development from Columbia University (1989). [2]

Cantor met Diana Marcy Fine on a blind date; they were married in 1989.[3]

Early career

As a freshman at George Washington University in 1981, Cantor worked as an intern for House Republican Tom Bliley of Virginia and was Bliley's driver in the 1982 campaign. [5]

Cantor worked for over a decade with his family's small business doing legal work and real estate development.

He served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1992–1 January 2001.[2] 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.[6][7]

Congress

During his first term Cantor was Chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare. He has also served on the House Financial Services Committee and on the House International Relations Committee and the very powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Since his second term, he has served as chief deputy Republican whip, the highest appointed position in the Republican caucus.[citation needed][2]

On November 7, 2006, Cantor defeated Jim Nachman, the Democratic nominee and Independent candidate Dr. Brad Blanton. Cantor received 63.85% of the votes.[8]

Cantor supports strong United States-Israel relations.[4][2] He cosponsored legislation to cut off all U.S. taxpayer aid to the Palestinian Authority and another bill calling for an end to taxpayer aid to the Palestinians until they stop unauthorized excavations on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.[9] Responding to a claim by the State Department that the United States provides no "direct" aid to the Palestinian Authority, Cantor stated that United States sends about US$75 million in aid annually to the Palestinian Authority, which is administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Cantor also stated that Congress approved a three-year package of US$400 million in aid for the Palestinian Authority in 2000.[10]

He was elected in 2000 to the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from which Tom Bliley was retiring.

Roy Blunt appointed him Chief Deputy Whip in 2002.[2]

In 2002 he defeated Democratic challenger Ben "Cooter" Jones (who starred on the TV series The Dukes of Hazzard.)[11][12]

In May 2008, in response to a statement by Barack Obama that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a "constant sore" the lack of a resolution to which "infects" America's foreign policy[13], Cantor disagreed and said that what Obama said is a constant sore "isn't a 'constant sore' instead it is a constant reminder of the greatness of America."[14]

On Sept. 29, 2008, Cantor, blamed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the initial failure of the $700 billion economic bailout bill. Pelosi had struck "the tone of partisanship that frankly, was inappropriate in this discussion," Cantor said. "This is not a partisan crisis," Cantor said. "This is an economic crisis facing everyone." He noted that 94 Democrats voted against the measure, as well as 133 Republicans.[15] He derided Mrs. Pelosi's proposal to name a Car czar to run the U.S. Automobile Industry Bailout.[16]

In late 2008, he was reading David Frum's book Comeback.[3][17]

Private Life

Cantor's cousin, Daniel Cantor Wultz, died from an Islamic Jihad suicide bombing in Tel Aviv on April 17 2006.[citation needed]

The Cantor children (Evan, Jenna, Michael) were born in approximately 1991, 1993, 1995. Mrs. Cantor's mother, Barbara Fine, lives in the Cantor household and manages cooking and shopping. Theirs is a kosher household.[18]

Mrs. Cantor (born about 1959) is a lawyer and certified public accountant. She founded, and from 1996 until 2008 was executive director of, the Virginia College Savings Plan (an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia.) She was also chairman of the board of the College Savings Plans Network.[18][19][20]Mrs. Cantor is a Managing Director in a division of Emigrant Bank. She was Vice President of Richmond Resources, Ltd., a real estate development, construction and management company (1990–1996}. At Goldman, Sachs & Co. (1985–1990) she rose to Vice President. She was an associate at Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler, a New York law firm, 1983–1985. Mrs. Cantor earns more than $400,000 as a director of Domino's Pizza, Inc. and Media General, Inc.[21]

Future political office

In August 2008 Cantor was being considered as John McCain's Vice Presidential running mate, with McCain's representatives seeking documents from Cantor as part of its vetting process.[22][23][24]

He has been mentioned as a possible prospect for a presidential run in 2012.[25]

Electoral history

Virginia's 7th congressional district: Results 2000–2006[26]
Year Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct
2000 Warren A. Stewart 94,935 33% Eric Cantor 192,652 67% *
2002 Ben L. "Cooter" Jones 49,854 30% Eric Cantor 113,658 69% *
2004 (no candidate) Eric Cantor 230,765 75% W. Brad Blanton Independent 74,325 24% *
2006 James M. Nachman 88,206 34% Eric Cantor 163,706 64% W. Brad Blanton Independent 4,213 2% *
2008[27][28] Anita Hartke 138,123 37% Eric Cantor 233,531 63%
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2000, write-ins received 304 votes. In 2002, write-ins received 153 votes. In 2004, write-ins received 568 votes. In 2006, write-ins received 272 votes.

References

  1. ^ "Eric I Cantor." Carroll's Federal Directory. Carroll Publishing, 2008. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC Document Number: K2415002547. Fee. Retrieved 14 December 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barone, Michael (2008). The Almanac of American Politics. Washington, D.C.: National Journal Group and Atlantic Media Company. pp. 1681–1683. ISBN 9780892341177. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b c Roig-Franzia, Manuel (11 December 2008). "The Pathfinder: New House Whip Eric Cantor Aims to be the GOP's Out-of-the-Wilderness Gude". Washington Post. pp. C1, C4. Retrieved 2008-12-14. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ a b Bacalis, Lauren (10/7/02). "Students campaign for GW alumnus". GW Hatchet. Washington, D.C. Retrieved 2008-12-14. Ten College Republicans, four Phi Sigma Kappa members and two pro-Israel students traveled to Richmond, Va. early Saturday morning to campaign for Cantor. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ Barnes, Fred. " Virginia's Eric Cantor has risen fast-and the sky's the limit.", The Weekly Standard, October 1, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2008. "As a freshman at George Washington University in 1981, Cantor worked as an intern for House Republican Tom Bliley of Virginia and was Bliley's driver in the 1982 campaign. After GW, Cantor got a law degree at William & Mary (1988) and a master's in real estate management from Columbia University."
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference WhoWho was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Historical Bio for Eric I. Cantor". Virginia House of Delegates. Retrieved 2008-12-14. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ "November 7, 2006 General Election Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2008-12-14. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ Jewish minyan grows in Senate; Jew elected to House, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, November 8, 2002.
  10. ^ "Bush waives law forbidding U.S. aid to PLO".
  11. ^ "Republicans projected to retain House".
  12. ^ "November 5, 2002 General Election Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2008-12-14. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ "Obama on Zionism and Hamas". theatlantic.com.
  14. ^ "GOP hits Obama over Israel".
  15. ^ "Richmond's Entertainment, News, and Community Resource - inRich.com". Inrich.com. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  16. ^ Rogers, David (December 11, 2008). "Bailout backers try to make a deal". Politico.com. Retrieved 2008-12-14. Yet in the House debate across the Capitol, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) derided the czar as an unneeded "bureaucratic" imposition on private business. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  17. ^ Frum, David (2008). Comeback: Conservatism that can win again (1st ed.). New York: Doubleday]]. ISBN 978-0-385-51533-7. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |chapterurl= (help)
  18. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference JewishWomen2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cantor, Diana F. (June 2, 2004). "Testimony of Diana F. Cantor before the House Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises" (PDF). House Committee on Financial Services. Retrieved 2008-12-14. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  20. ^ Cox, Kirk (February 11, 2008). "HJ382: Commending Diana F. Cantor". Retrieved 2008-12-14. Diana F. Cantor will step down from her position in 2008, having served the Commonwealth since April 24, 1996, as the outstanding founding executive director of the Virginia Higher Education Tuition Trust Fund, subsequently renamed the Virginia College Savings Plan... {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help) 02/15/2008 Agreed to by Senate by voice vote.
  21. ^ "Diana F. Cantor". Forbes.com. Forbes magazine. Retrieved 2008-12-14. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  22. ^ Rosenbluth, Susan, "Eric Cantor: He’s Young, He’s Conservative, He’s against Dividing Jerusalem, and John McCain’s Considering Him for VP", Jewish Voice and Opinion, August, 2008.
  23. ^ Lewis, Bob, via Associated Press. "In veep search, McCain asks Cantor for records", Yahoo! News, August 3, 2008.
  24. ^ "Rep. Cantor Under Closer McCain Scrutiny for Veep". Fox News Channel. August 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
  25. ^ Marc Ambinder. "The Bailout And Presidential Politics". theatlantic.com. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  26. ^ "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  27. ^ "2008 Election Results: Pennsylvania to Wyoming". Boston Globe. November 2008.
  28. ^ "Virginia Secretary of State Election Results". "Virginia Secretary of State". November 2008.
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