--- title: Cantor to Resign From Congress Before Term Ends description: The former House Majority Leader asked that a special election be held to expedite his replacement canonical: https://time.com/3069840/cantor-congress-resign/ author: Denver Nicks article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-01T12:46:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:00:58.523Z article:section: Politics og:title: Cantor to Resign From Congress Before Term Ends og:description: The former House Majority Leader asked that a special election be held to expedite his replacement og:url: https://time.com/3069840/cantor-congress-resign/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ac309a613158eaf/69869e191eebf723b53721b6/ap999890704961.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5184 og:image:height: 2916 og:image:alt: Eric Cantor og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Cantor to Resign From Congress Before Term Ends twitter:description: The former House Majority Leader asked that a special election be held to expedite his replacement twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ac309a613158eaf/69869e191eebf723b53721b6/ap999890704961.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Cantor Says He'll Resign Before Term Ends > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: How Eric Cantor Lost [Watch (HLS stream): How Eric Cantor Lost](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mPxC6Wns.m3u8) (2:13)  _Published 2014-06-11. Rep. Cantor's defeat by a tea party-backed political newcomer rattles Capitol Hill_  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Aug 1, 2014 12:46 PM UTC  House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va., left, arrives for a House Republican strategy session on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 29, 2014. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va., left, arrives for a House Republican strategy session on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 29, 2014. J. Scott Applewhite—AP  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Aug 1, 2014 12:46 PM UTC Rather than finish out his full final term in Congress, House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor will resign from Congress effective August 18, the Republican congressman [said](http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/virginia-politics/cantor-to-resign-from-congress-on-aug/article%5Fb62e871b-fa55-57fe-9019-6efaf52cbcc7.html#.U9tsvJTnJoQ.twitter) Thursday. Cantor, whose term in office would have extended through a lame duck session until January of next year, asked Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe to schedule a special election to be held on Election Day, November 4, to pick his replacement. With Cantor stepping down early, the winner of that special election will take Cantor’s old seat immediately rather than having to wait until the next Congress convenes to begin the new term. “I want to make sure that the constituents in the Seventh District will have a voice in what will be a very consequential lame-duck session,” Cantor said in an interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “That way he will also have seniority, and that will help the interests of my constituents (because) he can be there in that consequential lame-duck session,” Cantor said. A once-rising star in the GOP and likely next in line for Speaker of the House, Cantor’s political fortunes were reversed after his stunning defeat in a June GOP primary. In the contest to take over Cantor’s seat, economics professor Dave Brat—who defeated Cantor for the GOP nomination in June—will square off against Democrat Jack Trammell. Both men are professors at the same school, Randolph-Macon College. \[[_Richmond Times-Dispatch_](http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/virginia-politics/cantor-to-resign-from-congress-on-aug/article%5Fb62e871b-fa55-57fe-9019-6efaf52cbcc7.html#.U9tsvJTnJoQ.twitter)_\]_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3069840/cantor-congress-resign/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3069840/cantor-congress-resign/"},"headline":"Cantor Says He'll Resign Before Term Ends","datePublished":"2014-08-01T12:46:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:00:58.523Z","description":"The former House Majority Leader asked that a special election be held to expedite his replacement","url":"https://time.com/3069840/cantor-congress-resign/","keywords":["2014 Election","Congress","house","Virginia","Eric Cantor"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ac309a613158eaf/69869e191eebf723b53721b6/ap999890704961.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ac309a613158eaf/69869e191eebf723b53721b6/ap999890704961.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Eric Cantor","caption":"Eric Cantor","creditText":"J. 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