The surprising primary defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on Tuesday will reverberate through Washington’s lobbying industry, touching business advocates and lobbying shops with close ties to his office.
The scope will become clearer as the dust settles from Cantor’s loss to economics professor Dave Brat in the Republican primary in Virginia’s 7th congressional district, lobbyists and former lawmakers said. The election upset could also change the trajectory of immigration and voter rights reform and cause lobbying shops to reposition and change strategy.
