Tea Party Candidate Doesn't Want To Be Associated With The Tea Party

Dave Brat, the GOP nominee for Virginia’s 7th congressional district, is tired of being called a tea party candidate.

The economics professor, who beat out House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) for the nomination in an astonishing upset on a shoestring budget, told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that his victory is proof he resonates with a wide cross-section of voters.

"The national media is way too interested in trying to put people into little cubbyholes, and it looks like from the results of the vote I didn't belong in a little cubbyhole," he said. "They're trying to have their nice little jockeying, gamesmanship-type columns, 'Dave the Tea Partier,' but the evidence shows we surpassed our goals by a tremendous margin."

Brat, who’s taken far-right stances against immigration reform and gun control, is a favorite of tea party groups like FreedomWorks, who commended Brat on his grassroots win over Cantor in the June 10 primary. He will face off against Democrat nominee Jack Trammell in November.