ERIC CANTOR PRIMARY LOSS.

Republican Dave Brat galvanized conservative
support in the days leading up to Tuesday night’s
stunning primary upset of House Majority Leader
Eric Cantor by labeling the incumbent as weak on
fiscal discipline, immigration and Obamacare.
Brat, a relatively unknown economics professor at
Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va., garnered
56 percent of the vote despite being vastly
outspent by Cantor by more than a 10-to-1 ratio
on advertising and direct mail. So thorough was
the victory that Brat won 53 percent of vote in
Henrico County -- Cantor’s home and an area
that has had a Republican represent it either in
state legislature or Congress since 1992.
Brat will face Democrat Jack Trammell, a
sociology professor who also teaches at
Randolph-Macon, this fall.
PolitiFact Virginia looked at number of claims
made during the primary. Here’s what we found:
Cantor: Brat "worked on Democrat Gov. Tim
Kaine’s Council of Economic Advisors while Kaine
tried to raise our taxes by over $1 billion."
A hallmark attack from Cantor is that Brat is a
liberal professor. While we can’t evaluate that, we
do know that Brat was a member of the Joint
Advisory Board of Economists, which helps the
state refine its predictions for the state’s economy
as part of the annual budget process. Board
members are not compensated and the panel does
not weigh in on revenue or policy.
Kaine unsuccessfully proposed about $4 billion in
tax increases during his administration. The ad
creates the impression that Brat was involved in
the policy proposals, but there is no evidence to
support that. The claim needs clarification, so we
rated it Mostly True.
Brat: Eric Cantor "voted to fully fund Obamacare
in October."
Brat, in a TV ad, was referring to a temporary
appropriations bill that Cantor supported and
Congress passed last fall to end a 16-day
government shutdown. The measure guaranteed
continued funding for discretionary programs that
rely on annual congressional appropriations,
including defense and education.
But Obamacare was only marginally affected by
the shutdown and the bill Cantor backed. That’s
because only about 10 percent of its costs are
subject to appropriations by Congress. The bill
Cantor supported to end the shutdown, among
many other things, topped off the ACA’s funding
tank. What Brat omitted is that 90 percent of
Obamacare remained funded throughout the shutdown
and was unaffected by the bill Cantor backed. Cantor
opposed the original bill that established Obamacare in
2010.
We rated Brat’s claim Mostly False.
Cantor: "A liberal, pro-amnesty group" endorsed Brat.
Cantor wrote in an email that Casa de Virginia, a group
supporting immigration reform, backed Brat during a
May 28 rally in Richmond. Seeking to shore up his
conservative support, Cantor cited the action as proof
that that he is "standing up to Obama on illegal
immigration."
But no speaker at the rally issued an endorsement of
Dave Brat, Cantor’s opponent. To the contrary, the
keynoter stressed that the group was not taking sides in
the primary. A flier telling people to vote for "Anybody
But Cantor" was passed out by a man attending the
rally, but not in packets distributed by the organizers.
We rated Cantor’s claim False .
Laura Ingraham, Brat supporter: Cantor and Rep. Luis
Gutierrez were "touring the country last year … joined at
the hip, working together in a bipartisan fashion indeed
for the goal of immigration reform."
Ingraham, a conservative radio talk show host,
campaigned for Brat and said that Cantor was working
with Democrats to ease immigration laws. She backed
her "tour" charge by noting Cantor and Gutierrez, D-
Cal., attended a "Becoming America Pilgrimage" held a
year ago in New York City to recognize the historic
contribution of immigrants to the nation. They were
among 100 political, academic and faith leaders from
Washington who attended the event.
Aides for the two congressmen this is the only
immigration event both happened to attend and that
Cantor and Gutierrez have never met to discuss the
issue. Ingraham couldn’t point to another immigration
event the two had attended. One gig does not make a
national tour and we rated Ingraham’s statement Pants
on Fire .
Cantor: Senate immigration legislation is the "Obama-
Reid plan to give illegal immigrants amnesty."
Cantor was referring to legislation the Senate passed
last year that would add billions for border security and
open a pathway to citizenship for 11.5 million
undocumented immigrants in the U.S. This is amnesty,
of a sort, because the illegal entry would eventually be
forgiven after significant hurdles. The hurdles include at
least $2,000 in fines plus back taxes and 5 to 10 years
of waiting for a green card.
While President Barack Obama and Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid back the bill, the legislation was
largely the idea of four Democrat and four Republican
senators. Cantor’s description of the bill as a
Democratic plan is misleading and PolitiFact National
rated the statement Mostly False .