David Alan Brat (born July 27, 1964) is an American politician and academic who served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district from 2014 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected in 2014 after successfully primarying House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Brat narrowly lost re-election in 2018 to Democrat Abigail Spanberger.