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mond resident explained. “They were just grassroots activists”
Cantor's first major step into politics came in 1982, when he drove for Congressman Tom Bliely in the Congressman’s successful reelection. After graduating from college in 1989 he went to work for TrustMore Mortgage, the family business.
But politics were never far from his mind.
In 1991, Cantor became the youngest member of the House of Delegates when he became state senator at the age of 28. In 2000 Bliely announced his retirement from Congress, and backed his former protege for the open seat.
In securing the Republican nomination, Cantor defeated state senator Steve Martin by a mere 263 votes. It was his last real challenge.
His district was regarded as a swing district when Democratturned Republican Bliely served as its Congressman. But in 1990, the General Assembly redrew the boundary lines, and shifted most of the minority population into a new 3rd District. Left behind in the new 7th district were strong Republicans who turned the district into the
See CANTOR, Page B6
85.6%