Cantor Defeat Puts Markets on Guard for Debt Limit Gridlock

The primary election loss of U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who helped broker deals to end standoffs on the federal debt ceiling in October and February, has investors concerned that policy makers may find future agreements more difficult to reach.

Cantor was defeated by Tea Party-backed challenger David Brat, an economics professor at Randolph Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, who had been critical of Cantor’s willingness to compromise on issues ranging from the debt limit to the Obama administration’s signature health-care law.