Virginia Republican Rep. Eric Cantor, who stepped down from his House majority leader post Thursday, told his hometown newspaper that he’ll leave Congress altogether on August 18, before his term is up.
The announcement came two months after Cantor’s shocking primary loss to a nationally unknown tea party challenger and economics professor, Dave Brat. Cantor gave a farewell address Thursday ahead of Congress’s planned August recess.
“Walking into this building and walking onto this floor is something that excited me every day since I was first elected to Congress,” Cantor said on the House floor, adding, “I have truly lived the American dream.”
Cantor told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that he will resign from Congress early to “make sure that the constituents in the 7th District will have a voice in what will be a very consequential lame-duck session.”
Cantor asked Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe to call a special election in the district to coincide with the general election expected for November 4, according to the newspaper, allowing the winner to take office immediately rather than with the next Congress in January.









