Tea Party Boos, Heckles Eric Cantor in His Home District — and That Wasn't Even the Worst of It

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) received anything but a warm welcome from the Tea Party at the 7th Congressional District Convention held in Richmond Saturday.

According to multiple reports, the House majority leader was heckled and booed by conservative activists in his own district — and that wasn't even the worst of it.

Cantor loyalist and incumbent Linwood Cobb was defeated as chair of the local GOP and ousted by Tea Party favorite Fred Gruber.

Linwood Cobb stands next to Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.). Cobb was defeated as the GOP chair in Virginia's 7th congressional district Saturday. (Image source: Facebook)

In the past, Gruber has been an outspoken critic of Cantor and even appeared to refuse to refer to him as a "representative."

"Notice I have NOT addressed Mr. Cantor as 'Representative Cantor', (sic) because I do not feel he properly represents us, in many ways," a January blog post that appeared to be authored by Gruber said.

Huge loss for @EricCantor & GOP establishment as his top lieutenant Linwood Cobb is toppled for 7th D chair by Fred Gruber.

— Ryan Nobles (@ryanobles) May 10, 2014

The astounding defeat, described as a "huge loss" by a local NBC anchor, triggered a statement from former lieutenant governor Bill Bolling, who said he was "extremely disappointed" by the vote.

[sharequote align="center"]"Clearly, there is a battle taking place for the heart and soul of the Republican Party."[/sharequote]

"Clearly, there is a battle taking place for the heart and soul of the Republican Party. We are seeing this battle play out all across our state," he said. "While the voice of every Republican should be heard, our challenge is to figure out how to be a conservative party, without allowing the most extreme voices of the day to control our party and determine its future direction."

A spokesperson for Cantor could not be reached for comment by TheBlaze Sunday morning.

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