Rep. Kevin McCarthy replaces Eric Cantor as majority leader

Rep. Kevin McCarthy replaces Eric Cantor as majority leader
(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

House Republicans on Thursday elected Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the sitting House Whip and No. 3 member of the party leadership, as the next majority leader. McCarthy will replace Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who last week suffered a stunning primary election defeat to insurgent candidate Dave Brat.

McCarthy's win was widely expected, though it was still something of a slight rebuke to the party's more conservative, intransigent wing as McCarthy topped firebrand Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador. Labrador was one of a dozen lawmakers to not support Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) last re-election bid.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.