The Chosen Republican

AT FIRST GLANCE, Eric Cantor's life story resembles the biographies of scores of other suburban Republicans in Congress. Born and raised in the South, he attended a private Christian high school, and earned his law degree before returning home to work in the family business. He began his political career in the state legislature fighting to protect tobacco companies and return budget surpluses to taxpayers.

An unflinching fiscal conservative, the Virginia Republican is pro-life, supports the Second Amendment, and backs voluntary prayer in school. He's even a Rotarian.

But there's a critical difference: Cantor, 39, is the only Jewish Republican serving in the House. And there's no denying that his faith and passionate stands in defense of Israel have played a major role in his rapid ascent over just two years in Washington.

Two months ago Majority Whip Roy Blunt stunned colleagues by tapping Cantor to be his chief deputy, the same post Dennis Hastert held before becoming Speaker four years ago.

"He's worked hard around the country to try to build bridges and support among the Jewish community and he did that very effectively," Blunt says. "As the only member of the House leadership--Republican or Democrat--who's Jewish, it gives him substantial credibility to help reach out in that direction."

Cantor joins the Republican leadership at a time when the party is straining to translate its ardently pro-Israel message into votes and financial support from Jews, a group Democrats have dominated at the ballot box for generations.

Republican insiders were quick to call his selection a stroke of genius. In his brief tenure in Washington, Cantor has built a reputation as a smooth political operator, a workhorse, and an articulate, energetic spokesman for the cause. He was barely installed in office before he began traveling the country, reaching out to such powerful national Jewish groups as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs.

Just weeks ago, he addressed a group of AIPAC activists in West Palm Beach, Florida, a bastion of Jewish Democrats. "It's no secret that the mainstream Jewish community in this country is Democrat," Cantor said in an interview shortly after that trip. And members of the Jewish community "have a different domestic agenda often than most conservative Republicans do. But I think when it comes to Israel, all that gets set aside."

His message is music to Republican leaders' ears. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, an uncompromising critic of Yasser Arafat, says Cantor is the first person he turns to on questions involving Israel.

Cantor's easy southern manner and ability to articulate complex foreign policy matters succinctly have also made him a regular on the national television talk circuit. On "Crossfire," he serves up pro-Israel sound bites opposite the likes of James Zogby of the Arab American Institute.

Cantor says any foothold Republicans have gained in wooing the Jewish vote is largely due to George W. Bush, and argues that the president's strong support for Israel already has opened the door for Jews to flock to the Grand Old Party.

"9/11, that awful, awful tragedy that occurred because of a terrorist attack was really the catalyst," he said. "The Jewish community in America realized that there is a common enemy out there, and it is not Republicans."

His efforts have not been lost on leaders of the Jewish political community. Howard Kohr, the executive director of AIPAC, has called Cantor "a true leader when it comes to the Middle East." Matt Brooks, the chairman of the Republican Jewish Coalition, where Cantor is a board member, said the Virginia Republican is "uniquely capable of selling the Republican agenda to Jewish voters."

In his first year in Congress, he quickly won the support of influential Jewish GOP activists with deep pockets, including Fred Zeidman, a venture capitalist from Houston who Bush appointed chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Museum.

"I really liked him the first day I met him," Zeidman said of Cantor. "I wrote him a check."

As an adult, Cantor has never been shy about voicing his support for Israel, even though the issue was a mild undercurrent in his first primary battle against Virginia state senator Steve Martin, the son of a country preacher. He won by fewer than 300 votes.

But growing up in the good ol' boy South with a Baptist or Episcopal church on every other street corner, he learned to be reticent in his faith. Life as one of the only Jews in a high school class of 100 could be awkward.