[Flash Walken]

Who is David Brat?

The college economics professor is suddenly the tea party’s newest star after toppling House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R., Va.) in a primary Tuesday. Mr. Brat’s victory is the biggest House primary upset in generations – and wasn’t predicted by anyone, including Mr. Brat.

“God acted through people on my behalf,” Mr. Brat told Fox News during an interview Tuesday night. “It’s an unbelievable miracle.”

...

An economics professor at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va., Mr. Brat appeared more interested in campaigning to make a point than in winning. The Washington Post reported last month that he no-showed meetings with key conservative activists in the capital. His excuse: He had final exams to grade.
Mr. Brat will face Democrat Jack Trammell, who is a professor and the director of disability support services at Randolph-Macon College, the same school where Mr. Brat teaches.

Mr. Cantor can’t run as a third-party candidate. Virginia law forbids candidates who lose primary elections from appearing on the general election ballot. It is not immediately clear if he will mount a write-in campaign , as did Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) after losing a 2010 GOP Senate primary.

There are clues to Mr. Brat’s ideology in his academic CV. His current book project is titled “Ethics as Leading Economic Indicator? What went Wrong? Notes on the Judeo-Christian Tradition and Human Reason.”

His other published works include the titles “God and Advanced Mammon – Can Theological Types Handle Usury and Capitalism?” and “An Analysis of the Moral Foundations in Ayn Rand.”

http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/BL-WB-46414