As Cantor announces exit from GOP House leadership, the jockeying begins --- House Republicans on Wednesday plunged into a regional and ideological struggle over the prospect of new leadership, with a flash campaign for top jobs that will echo the internal battles that have roiled the national GOP for the past five years. --- Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) announced Wednesday that he was stepping down from his role as majority leader after an embarrassing primary defeat Tuesday night. His statement prompted GOP lawmakers of various ideological stripes to launch bids to succeed the onetime rising star, who had become the heir apparent to House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio). -- From phone calls to text messages to e-mails to secret meetings, fault lines quickly developed inside an already fractured caucus that has grown increasingly conservative since the 2010 elections swept Republicans into control of the House. -- After an emotional meeting with GOP lawmakers, Cantor threw his “full support” behind his longtime lieutenant, Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), a genial 49-year-old with close ties to many members of the huge 2010 class. A strong fundraiser, McCarthy represents the conservative establishment within the party. -- Immediately, he faced a threat from a pair of conservative Texas chairmen — Reps. Jeb Hensarling, head of the Financial Services Committee, and Pete Sessions, head of the Rules Committee. A onetime member of ­leadership, Hensarling has emerged as the choice of conservatives who have cheered his battles with Boehner and Cantor over issues such as flood insurance laws and reauthorization of the ­Export-Import Bank. -- Should McCarthy win, a similar battle is set to play out to fill his No. 3 slot in leadership. -- That battle is likely to carry regional overtones, pitting Southern members against those from the Midwest. - More, Washingtonpost, http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-cantor-exits-from-gop-house-leadership-the-jockeying-begins/2014/06/11/35c7eb38-f185-11e3-bf76-447a5df6411f_story.html