Eric Ivan Cantor (born June 6, 1963) is the Republican representative of Virginia's 7th congressional district. The district includes most of the northern and western sections of Richmond, along with most of Richmond's western suburbs and portions of the Shenandoah Valley.

On November 19, 2008, he was unanimously elected Republican Whip for the 111th United States Congress after serving as chief deputy whip for the previous six years. Cantor is currently the only Jewish Republican in the United States Congress.

Cantor was born in Richmond, Virginia. He graduated high school from Collegiate School in 1981. He earned a B.A. at George Washington University (1985) where he was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity, received his Juris Doctor from William & Mary Law School (1988), and received an M.S. in real estate development from Columbia University (1989).