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. ||||| 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. ||||| House Republicans will meet at 4 p.m. Wednesday, less than 24 hours after Majority Leader Eric Cantor was defeated in his primary race. 
 
 The meeting was announced as the House begins to grapple with one of the most unforeseen instances of the toppling of a congressional leader in recent political history. 
 
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 As Cantor (R-Va.) meets with aides in his Capitol suite, the leadership scramble is 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 and a Sessions aide. He sent out a mass text message Tuesday night seeking support. 
 
 (Full results from Virginia) 
 
 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 — one of the biggest unanswered questions on Wednesday. 
 
 The strategy for McCarthy of California is to make his ascension appear to be the most logical choice for Republicans. He and Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling, another possible contender for the majority leader position, spoke by phone Tuesday night, according to a GOP source familiar with the conversation. The two have a friendly relationship and discussed the leadership situation. But it is unclear if there was any resolution from the discussion. 
 
 Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) are also considered potential contenders for the majority leader position. Jordan has already made calls to some lawmakers. 
 
 GOP Vice Chair Lynn Jenkins (Kansas) would also consider moving up, according to a GOP source. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Cantor loses) 
 
 “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.” 
 
 Several GOP sources said that conservative lawmakers could ask for Cantor to step down immediately as majority leader. 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. 
 
 For months, there has been intense jockeying among Republicans for a seat at the leadership table — amplified by uncertainty over whether Speaker John Boehner would retain the gavel in the next Congress. 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. 
 
 (PHOTOS: Scenes from Eric Cantor HQ) 
 
 Cantor arrived at the Capitol early Wednesday morning and addressed his fellow Republican leaders in a private meeting. He was pragmatic about the loss and took it in stride while GOP leaders offered their condolences, according to a source in the meeting. GOP insiders said the Virginia Republican is worried about his staff as many expect that he will step down as leader in the near future. 
 
 Until a formal announcement is made, Cantor’s fate will dominate what will happen on the floor and inside the GOP Conference over the next days and weeks. 
 
 If members ask for Cantor to resign his post this year, it will likely be on a member-by-member basis. Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp, who has been a consistent critic of Republican leadership, said he would not ask Cantor to step-down early. 
 
 “I don’t think much is going to happen the rest of the year. I haven’t thought about him resigning, he has a job to do and he’s got to finish it up,” said Huelskamp. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Nancy Pelosi: "Whole new ballgame") 
 
 Huelskamp led the effort in 2012 to oust Boehner as speaker and has been drumming up opposition since to usher in a new set of GOP leaders. 
 
 So far, Cantor has not made an announcement about whether he plans to stay in leadership or step down. Cantor planned to meet with his unofficial “kitchen cabinet” of closest allies on Wednesday but the huddle was canceled. 
 
 Republican Study Committee 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. 
 
 Scalise aggressively began texting and calling members Tuesday evening to begin formulating a whip count, sources said. 
 
 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 Georgia Rep. Tom Price. 
 
 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.
– Now that majority leader Eric Cantor is out of the running for the next Congress, who will take his place in the GOP leadership? Politico identifies a number of potential frontrunners, starting with current majority whip Kevin McCarthy of California, who is pretty much guaranteed to seek Cantor's old job, party insiders say. House rules committee chair Pete Sessions of Texas is already looking for allies in a bid to replace Cantor, Politico reports. But Texas' Jeb Hensarling, Ohio's Jim Jordan, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington could offer a conservative-wing challenge. If McCarthy leaves the whip position, get ready for another battle—perhaps between McMorris Rodgers, Pete Roskam of Illinois, and Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who has already officially decided to seek the post following colleagues' urging, Politico notes. Conservatives want Cantor to step down now, paving the way to a leadership debate soon. In the coming days, "you’re going to start hearing that people are seriously considering a run. It will be blown up," says an ex-party leadership staffer. "By the end of the week, we’re going to see who is interested and who is not."