So David Brat is the new Republican candidate for the House of Representatives in Virginia's 7th District. He ran specifically on blocking immigration reform. The Republican Party is screwed.
David Brat is the official candidate of the Republican Party. The state and national party now have two choices: Back his candidacy or let him flounder on his own. Except they really want to hold on to the House so they really need to support every Republican candidate. Every.Single.One. So they need to give Brat their full backing and support. Oh, but in the last election cycle the Republicans realized that they have a problem with Hispanic voters, mainly that Hispanic voters hate them. They have a whole plan laid out on how they are going to reach out to Hispanic voters because the Hispanic block is rapidly growing while the old white guy block that is their traditional base is literally dying off. But they have a candidate in Virginia's 7th District whose entire campaign was about blocking immigration reform and how those evil brown people are stealing your jobs. And this isn't just some obscure candidate in some obscure district: This is the guy who knocked out the second most powerful man in the House, the man who would be King as soon as Boehner decided he wanted to spend more time with his family. So all eyes are going to be watching Dave Brat, and they are going to be hearing his non-stop bashing of undocumented workers and immigration reform. And this may well spook other Republicans into also turning against immigration reform, lest they suffer the same fate as Cantor. But the Republican Party desperately needs to be seen as open to immigration reform so the Hispanics stop giving them the cold-shoulder. But but but but but........
Yes, Republicans are so screwed.