NASHVILLE - Saying it sees an opportunity for an upset, the National Republican Campaign Committee has jumped into Tennessee's 4th Congressional District campaign, spending almost $500,000 on an ad blasting U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis.
KEY DATES* Early voting continues through Oct. 28.* Election Day is Nov. 2.
The ad hits the Pall Mall, Tenn., Democrat for his ad attacking Republican nominee Scott DesJarlais, of Jasper, Tenn.
The Davis ad used 10-year-old allegations in DesJarlais' divorce case that he pulled the trigger on an unloaded gun outside his then-wife's locked bedroom door and once held a gun in his mouth for three hours.
"How desperate would you have to be to attack someone's family?" the NRCC ad says. "That's what Lincoln Davis is doing. He's desperate to distract the public from seeing his votes since Obama became president."
Committee spokesman Andy Sere said the NRCC believes it can tip the race to the Republicans.
"We got into this race because every poll we've seen indicates that Scott DesJarlais can win, and we want to press our advantage," he said.
The Davis campaign on Wednesday condemned what it called months of "harsh personal attacks."
"Since DesJarlais continues to lie about Lincoln Davis' strong independent record in Congress, the Davis campaign is simply telling the truth about Dr. DesJarlais' terroristic behavior toward his first wife and attempts to reduce financial support to his own child," the campaign said.
Meanwhile, state Rep. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, who is running for state Senate, is drawing fire for apparently making light of allegations in Davis' ad that DesJarlais once thought of suicide.
In a posting Thursday on his blog, Campfield wrote, "If Lincoln Davis was my US rep. I would probably have a gun in my mouth as well!"
Tennessee Democratic Party spokesman Keith Talley called Campfield's statement "another irresponsible quip from a guy who seems to enjoy making a fool of himself."
Neither the Davis nor the DesJarlais campaigns had comments Thursday afternoon.
Continue reading by following this link to a related story: