Brat: GOP Needs Focus on 'Main Street over Wall Street'

Dave Brat, the candidate who defeated House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), took to Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” on Tuesday night where he stated the Republican Party needs to get back to its principles and focus on “Main Street.”  

Brat declared “the people are just ready for some major changes in this country.”  He said that his win was not a victory of the Tea Party over the Republican Party, but rather a commitment to principle, saying “I ran on the Republican principles, and we have this Republican creed in Virginia and the only problem with the Republican principles is no one is following them.”  He described the race as victory for grassroots populism, and argued that “in Virginia the Republican Party has been kind of taken it to the grassroots and the grassroots is rightly upset because the grassroots is mocked routinely in the press,” and “the Republican Party has been paying too much attention to Wall Street and not enough to Main Street. 

The American people want to take the country back.”  Brat stated that the difference between him and Cantor on immigration was the most symbolic issue that captures the differences between myself and Eric Cantor in this race, but it also captures that fissure between Main Street and Wall Street.”

Watch (Part 2):

Brat credited his primary upset over Cantor to the fact that he “just paid attention to people, and people love to be involved in the political process,” because “dollars don’t vote.” He also argued that leaders need to move beyond politics and focus on bedrock principles. Brat declared “we need to quit playing politics every day. Everything is about crass politics. Democrats are making statements about me moving to the right. There’s nothing right or left about free markets. There’s nothing right or left about rule of law.

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett