"Cantor" ain't just what horses do

According to The Hill, Eric Cantor's name has become part of Congressional parlance:

Staffers have now coined the term “Cantored”, meaning to lose in what is otherwise considered to be a safe, Republican-controlled seat. 

"Anyone who is in leadership or chairs a committee knows now that getting Cantored is a real possibility," said one senior staffer of a House Republican committee chairman who is up for reelection. 

As I noted back in August, Cantor's primary loss had scared local pols into becoming big presences in their district. It looks like it's had a similar effect on the national level. Incumbents who would normally coast to an easy re-election are making sure they're not taking anything for granted.

Upsets like Brat's are rare events, in part because they act as wake-up calls to the rest of the universe of elected officials. No one wants to be caught napping like Cantor was; and so we should expect very few incumbents getting "Cantored" in the near future.