FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 11, 2014

HOWIE SAYS CANTOR LOSS INDICATES BIG TROUBLE FOR MIKE ROUNDS

Rapid City—US Senate candidate, Gordon Howie, said today that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s upset loss to Dave Brat in yesterday’s GOP primary is “proof that voters are tired of status quo, establishment Republicans who pretend to be conservative, but really aren’t.  Voters have good “truth detectors,” and that’s a good thing for democracy, and for America.
“No one expected Cantor to lose–no one.  In fact, just a few days ago Cantor’s pollster released a poll showing him with a 34% lead, and yet he ended up turning a 34% lead into a 12% loss–a 46% swing in just a handful of days!  Cantor also outspent Brat roughly 25-1, and it not only wasn’t good enough–the race wasn’t even close.

“Mike Rounds would like to convince folks that his election to the U.S. Senate is inevitable.  Well, that’s exactly what everyone believed about Eric Cantor. The good news is that voters get the final word as to who represents them in Congress.  I look forward to running a vigorous, issue-based campaign that demonstrates that I am the only authentic conservative in this race.”
It is encouraging to see that the biggest checkbook doesn’t guarantee a win. Brat’s campaign was underfunded and ridiculed from the beginning, but his commitment to the principles and ideals prevailed even though his opponent had millions of dollars to spend. Cantor’s big money campaign could not overcome voter discontent with the establishment’s poor performance and record of compromise.
Increasing numbers of voters are looking past the empty smiles and promises of slick TV ads.  Last Tuesday even though Rounds spent more than two million dollars, the results were similar, with 45% of the GOP rejecting his brand of “common sense”.
While this is being tagged as a “tea party” win, Brat affirms that the real victory came from his uncompromising support of the Republican Party platform, which deals with less government control, free market solutions and faith in God.
When given a clear choice between an establishment candidate with lots of money and a conservative with a commitment to principle, voters will continue to choose principle over politics.