The primary race in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District took a shocking turn when challenger Dave Brat overcame the odds and won against not only an incumbent but the sitting Majority Leader of the House of Representatives.

Cantor’s stunning defeat is viewed as a major victory for the grassroots and Tea Party activists but while the movement may have had the power to remove the establishment candidate from leadership, they are likely to be unsuccessful in playing a meaningful role in choosing his successor.

The immediate and obvious choice following Cantor’s loss was to promote the House’s number three, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), to the number two position. In the early days of this short race it appeared McCarthy’s ascension might be challenged by a pair of Texans, House Rules Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX) and House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). In the end however, both potential challengers dropped their bids essentially giving McCarthy a clear path to the Leadership.

But is McCarthy the “right” choice for Majority Leader?

McCarthy is obviously not Eric Cantor and takes different stances on certain issues, but he is also Cantor’s handpicked, anointed successor. And replacing Cantor with McCarthy is sure to anger the activists who fought to see Cantor unseated and are the same folks that will be relied upon to help the Republicans maintain control of the House and take over the Senate in the mid-term elections. As Washington Examiner Senior Writer Philip Klein wrote:

It would be bizarre if instead of going in a new direction after this stunning defeat, House Republicans just rallied around Cantor’s own pick. It’s especially demoralizing to conservatives whose energy the GOP will need this November.

It now appears that the lone challenge to McCarthy’s claim for Majority Leader is Raul Labrador of Idaho who officially entered the race with about a week remaining before the caucus vote. Labrador serves as the conservative alternative to McCarthy though at this point it will be difficult for him to manufacture enough support to mount a serious challenge.

The conventional wisdom is suggesting that Labrador is indeed a long shot for the position and that the GOP will ultimately elect McCarthy as Majority Leader for the remainder of the 113th Congress with the possibility of shaking up the leadership in the next Congress.

Whether this tactic is sufficient for the conservative base remains to be seen. Brat’s stunning upset victory gave the conservative wing of the House caucus an opportunity to really shake up the leadership and insert a member that is outside of the establishment and more in-line with the base. In the end this may be just another example of the GOP snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.