The jockeying among Republicans to replace Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.) as House majority leader began Wednesday within hours of his stunning primary loss and escalated when he announced he would step down early from his leadership post. 
 
 Ambitious Republicans began working the phones, holding meetings and pigeonholing colleagues to line up support for their bids for two potential openings: majority leader and whip. 
 
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 While Cantor will stay on as majority leader through July 31, the election to replace him will take place on June 19, a week from Thursday, setting off a scramble among possible contenders. 
 
 The current majority whip, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), faced an immediate challenge from Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) in his expected bid to become majority leader, the second-ranking leadership job behind Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). 
 
 Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Sessions cited his experience as chairman of the Rules Committee and before that as the House GOP campaign chief as his qualifications for the job. 
 
 With the issue of immigration seen as a factor in Cantor’s defeat, the conservative Texan said he would focus on border security — an indication he would be unlikely to work with Democrats on a broader overhaul to provide citizenship to illegal immigrants. 
 
 “I think my strength is that I am a well-known conservative who will push for and want to have an agenda that I will go get the votes that is conservative, that is pro-business and solves the problems of the country,” Sessions said. “And I think that our focus on that will need to start with the border.” 
 
 Yet Sessions moved so quickly that he may have irritated some members, who reported receiving a text message from him 20 minutes after Cantor’s defeat became official. 
 
 “How about waiting until the body's at the morgue?” one member said. 
 
 McCarthy opted to wait until Cantor had made his decision before campaigning to be the next majority leader, according to a source who was in McCarthy's office late Tuesday night. 
 
 “McCarthy said ‘We're not doing anything until Eric does what Eric's going to do, we're going to give him room to make his decision,’” the source told The Hill. 
 
 In announcing his decision to step down, Cantor made clear that McCarthy would have his full support if he chooses to run for majority leader. 
 
 The fast election could benefit McCarthy, a fellow GOP “Young Gun” who has spent years building up his base of support within the conference. Lawmakers also said they did not want a drawn-out election to distract from their agenda and leave time for outside conservative groups to try to influence the outcome. 
 
 Boehner is officially neutral, spokesman Michael Steel said. 
 
 “We have important work to do and need to get the new leadership team in place as soon as possible,” he said. “And he has not endorsed anyone in any race.” 
 
 Inside the meeting where Cantor announced his decision, Boehner made clear that he would run for Speaker again in the 114th Congress, lawmakers said. 
 
 Another Texas conservative, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, was also considering a bid for majority leader. Currently chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Hensarling served in the leadership until 2013 but has frequently voted against Boehner and Cantor in the year-and-a-half since he left. 
 
 Hensarling has played coy in recent weeks when asked whether he might challenge or seek to succeed Boehner. 
 
 “I am humbled by the many people who have approached me about serving our Republican Conference in a different capacity in the future,” he said. “There are many ways to advance the causes of freedom and free enterprise, and I am prayerfully considering the best way I can serve in those efforts.” 
 
 Hensarling would have the support of Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), a vocal second-term conservative who is gunning to be chairman of the Republican Study Committee in the next Congress. 
 
 If McCarthy succeeds in the election to replace Cantor, his position would open up and the race for that potential post also heated up: Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) moved rapidly to challenge Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), the chief deputy whip who has been eyeing the spot for months. 
 
 “He’s in for the whip’s race,” a source close to Roskam said on Wednesday. 
 
 Scalise is chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, and a GOP aide said on Wednesday that as soon as Cantor’s loss became official, he began receiving calls from colleagues urging him to run for majority whip. 
 
 “Obviously, no one saw Leader Cantor losing yesterday,” the aide said. “It was a tectonic shift that caught everyone off guard.” 
 
 Scalise had been laying the groundwork for the race in the event Boehner decided to retire at year’s end, but he is now prepared to run whenever the opening occurs. 
 
 “Regardless of Leader Cantor’s position, he’s ready to go,” the aide said. 
 
 Rep. Patrick Tiberi (R-Ohio), a close Boehner ally, told reporters that the Texas GOP delegation was meeting to discuss leadership possibilities, with both Sessions and Hensarling being discussed as potential Cantor replacements. 
 
 Tiberi declined to endorse any candidates, but made it clear he was a fan of McCarthy and Roskam and that they had strong chances to move up the leadership pecking order. 
 
 “They both have a very successful tenure in their positions in leadership, and I think they have a lot of support within the conference generally speaking for the job that they’ve done,” Tiberi said. 
 
 If McCarthy loses his bid to become majority leader, the position of whip would not open up. 
 
 Amid the jockeying, the fourth-ranking Republican, Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.), announced Wednesday that she would stay put rather than seek a promotion. 
 
 “After much encouragement from my colleagues, conversations with my family, and many prayers, I have decided to remain conference chair at this time,” said McMorris Rodgers, the highest-ranking Republican woman. 
 
 Also staying out of the races will be Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the House Budget chief and 2012 GOP vice presidential nominee. 
 
 “I’m not interested,” he told reporters. 
 
 Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), another respected conservative and former RSC chairman, also told The Hill he did not plan to run for any of the open positions. 
 
 The emerging battles will pit establishment Republicans close to Boehner like McCarthy and Roskam against conservatives likely to push the party further to the right. 
 
 Lawmakers frustrated with the current leadership have spoken for months about the need to have more representation at the top from members who hail from deeply Republican states. Boehner, Cantor, McCarthy and McMorris Rodgers all represent states that President Obama carried in the last two presidential elections. 
 
 “I think that when all of the key leaders are from blue and purple states, and the rank and file are from red states, it creates some tension, or miscommunications, or misunderstandings that occur in our conference right now,” Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said. “So I am hopeful that somewhere in the mix of new leadership there will be a strong red state advocate who is more reflective of the type of Republican that I represent.” 
 
 —This story was updated at 6:29 p.m. 
 
 Molly K. Hooper, Bernie Becker, Erik Wasson, Peter Schroeder and Cristina Marcos contributed. ||||| Eric Cantor — looking composed and even unusually at ease — went before the press on Wednesday afternoon and announced he’s stepping down as majority leader, ending an 11-year run in Republican leadership. 
 
 The No. 2 House Republican called his defeat to an upstart primary challenger a “personal setback,” adding that his campaign team had done everything it could to win. 
 
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 The public appearance came after a closed-door speech to his colleagues earlier in which Cantor said that it “doesn’t have to be a bad day.” He was the recipient of several standing ovations. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: The GOP leadership scramble) 
 
 “Suffering is part of life, misery is a choice,” said Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in the House, quoting a Holocaust survivor. “As conservatives, we aren’t just the party of no. We really do believe in a better way of life.” 
 
 Cantor then addressed the national press corps, one day after his stunning defeat, dismissing the argument that he had absented himself too frequently from his Seventh District in Richmond. 
 
 “I was in my district every week,” Cantor insisted emphatically. “There is a balance between holding a leadership position and serving constituents at home. Never was there a day that I did not put the constituents of the 7th district first and I will continue to do so.” 
 
 He endorsed California Rep. Kevin McCarthy to succeed him as majority leader. The election will be held June 19, and Cantor plans to leave his post by the end of July. He’ll stay in the House until December. 
 
 (PHOTOS: Scenes from Eric Cantor HQ) 
 
 Asked about his future plans, Cantor replied: “That’s probably between my wife and me.” 
 
 Addressing his colleagues earlier, Cantor’s words drove Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to tears. Leadership elections are slated for just eight days away on June 19, according to a source in the room. 
 
 “Winston Churchill once famously said: ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts,’” Boehner said, according to a source in the room. “As one who suffered a tough defeat myself in 1998, I can tell you there’s plenty of wisdom in that statement. Eric, we salute you, and we thank you, and your amazing staff as well. We’re losing a leader, but you’ll never stop being our colleague and our friend.” 
 
 Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will seek the No. 2 job, which means two slots will open in the leadership hierarchy. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: 5 takeaways from Cantor shocker) 
 
 Cantor’s resignation as majority leader will be effective July 31. He’s not expected to leave Congress until his term ends in January. 
 
 Cantor, who came to Capitol Hill in 2001, lost his primary election Tuesday night to Dave Brat, an economics professor at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va. — a historic defeat for someone who was assumed to be the next speaker of the House. Just hours after his loss, Cantor’s GOP colleagues began rallying support for leadership races. 
 
 On Wednesday afternoon, McCarthy, the Californian who is now majority whip, held a meeting with his close allies to talk strategy about his run for leader. 
 
 McCarthy is starting to build establishment support within the GOP Conference. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was seen leaving McCarthy’s office on the first floor of the Capitol. And Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton of Michigan said in an interview he would support McCarthy for majority leader. 
 
 Prior to a 1 p.m. House vote, a sizable group of young Republican lawmakers — including Rep. Tom Rooney of Florida — met to talk about who they would rally behind. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Vampire writer challenging Brat) 
 
 Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), a McCarthy rival who chairs the House Rules Committee, has also begun rallying support in calls and text messages. He began Tuesday night, just after Cantor lost, with a mass text message saying he wanted to serve as majority leader. 
 
 Sessions had ambitions to be whip following the Republican takeover of the House in 2010, but McCarthy had more support and the Texas Republican instead ended up as Rules chairman. 
 
 As of now, McCarthy is fielding calls, and speaking with many Republican lawmakers, but has not yet engaged in a formal campaign. His strategy will be to make his ascension appear to be the most logical choice for Republicans. He has the whip operation and piles of chits to win the race. ||||| Twelve hours after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s stunning primary defeat the leadership scramble is already shifting into high gear. 
 
 House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions is making an aggressive play for the No. 2 spot. The Texas Republican has been calling and emailing lawmakers seeking support for a potential bid to replace Cantor, according to several sources. 
 
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 House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, the chamber’s No. 3 Republican, has also been speaking with a lot of members. But McCarthy will not engage in a formal campaign until Cantor makes a decision about whether he will stay in leadership for the duration of his term. 
 
 (WATCH: Inside Cantor's stunning loss) 
 
 Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) and Jeb Hensarling (Texas) are all considered potential contenders for the majority leader position. 
 
 ”I am humbled by the many people who have approached me about serving our Republican Conference in a different capacity in the future,” Hensarling said. “There are many ways to advance the causes of freedom and free enterprise, and I am prayerfully considering the best way I can serve in those efforts.” 
 
 Cantor arrived at the Capitol early Wednesday morning and Republican leadership was scheduled to huddle early today. Cantor’s fate will dominate what will happen on the floor and inside the GOP Conference over the next days and weeks. 
 
 (Full results from Virginia) 
 
 Republicans have been privately jockeying for a seat at the leadership table for months. The positioning wasn’t going to explode into the public until after the midterms but Cantor’s shocking primary loss on Tuesday upended that timetable. 
 
 Several GOP sources said that conservative lawmakers will ask for Cantor to step down immediately as majority leader and that they want to have the leadership battle sooner rather than later. There is no discussion of a challenge to Speaker John Boehner, who has been the subject of speculation about whether he will retire after the election or in the next Congress. 
 
 So far, Cantor has not made an announcement about whether he plans to stay in leadership or step down. Cantor is planning to meet with his unofficial “kitchen cabinet” of closest allies in the House later on Wednesday, according to GOP sources. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: The GOP leadership scramble) 
 
 House Republican Conference Chairman Steve Scalise and Illinois Rep. Peter Roskam have all but openly declared they are running for the whip slot. Both lawmakers have been reaching out to people, but have not formally announced bids for the slot. 
 
 McMorris Rodgers has signaled interest to her allies in both the majority leader and whip slot. She said she was “talking to a lot of people.” But sources close to her added that she has not yet made a decision to run for majority leader or whip. 
 
 Other potential whips include Sessions and Rep. Tom Price (Ga.). 
 
 If leadership races happen in the near term, it could play well for McCarthy and Roskam, who both already have whip teams in place and have been working to curry favor with lawmakers for months.
– Eric Cantor confirmed this afternoon that he won't be launching a long-shot bid to remain in Congress with a write-in candidacy in Virginia's general election. He told his GOP colleagues behind closed doors that he will serve out his term but will step down as majority leader at the end of next month. “It doesn't have to be a bad day," he said at the GOP meeting, reports Politico. "Suffering is part of life, misery is a choice." He reiterated his decision at a news conference later, reports the Washington Post. “While I may have suffered a personal setback last night, I couldn’t be more optimistic about the future of this country,” Cantor said. So what's next for him? "That's probably between my wife and me," he said. Meanwhile, the House will have elections to pick a new majority leader on June 19, with the leading candidates being majority whip Kevin McCarthy of California and Pete Sessions of Texas. Sessions may have rankled colleagues by waiting only 20 minutes after Cantor's defeat was announced to start pushing his own candidacy, reports the Hill. (Click to read about the candidate who stunned Cantor in the primary, David Bratt.)