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Eric Cantor Thinks Big

Running-mate big

by
Marc Tracy
October 05, 2011
Rep. Eric Cantor yesterday.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Rep. Eric Cantor yesterday.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Rep. Eric Cantor, the Virginia Republican who is House Majority Leader and highest-ranked Jewish U.S. legislator ever, is starting a Super PAC. His trusted deputy chief-of-staff is devoting himself to it full-time. Ostensibly, it enables Cantor to raise money for other candidates; he has indicated these will be his fellow “Young Guns,” that is, conservative, Tea Party-leaning Republicans of a junior bent. However, according to the National Journal, the PAC “would give Cantor a vehicle he could use to run for vice president, should the opportunity arise, said a source close to the majority leader’s office, who asked not to be named because the source was not authorized to speak publicly.” If Cantor were selected to be the GOP nominee’s running mate, he would be only the third Jew on a major party’s national ticket, after Sen. Joe Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew from Connecticut, and Sarah Palin, an extremely Reconstructionist Jew from Alaska.

Cantor was the subject of a New York profile this week and another by our very own Allison Hoffman in February.

Sources: Cantor Launching Super PAC To Position for VP [National Journal Influence Alley]
Related: The Gentleman From Virginia [Tablet Magazine]
Earlier:What Makes Cantor Run?

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.