Grant Starrett and Scott DesJarlais are pictured in this composite photo.NASHVILLE -- Republican U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., has been called many things since he first emerged in 2010 on Tennessee's political scene, but never "kind of liberal."
Until now.
Grant Starrett announced a primary challenge in April and is taking on the 4th District incumbent from the right.
"People are shocked to learn more about his record," Starrett said last week in an interview. "I think that Scott has not been a consistent conservative. He has been a conservative when it's convenient."
Starrett, 27, who describes himself as a "Christian and Constitutional conservative," recently charged in a campaign Facebook post that DesJarlais was "rated the 2nd most liberal Tennessee Republican serving in the House today."
That's based on the American Conservative Union's scoring of 2012 congressional votes, when DesJarlais received a score of 76 out of a possible 100. The Facebook post was later removed. DesJarlais most recently earned a 100 ACU score, and his "lifetime" score is 86.
The line of attack by Starrett, a 2012 Vanderbilt Law School graduate, represents a major departure from past opponents' strategies against DesJarlais, 51, a South Pittsburg physician.
A self-described supporter of "family values," DesJarlais spent his 2010, 2012 and 2014 campaigns dealing with revelations from his 2001 divorce. Among them was that he dated a patient and a former patient, pressured the latter to get an abortion and went along with his first wife's two abortions.
Dr. John Vile, a political science professor at Middle Tennessee State University, was nearly speechless when he heard of Starrett's stance.
"I think DesJarlais is perceived as a lot of things but liberal isn't one of them," said Vile. Given DesJarlais' personal baggage, Vile still isn't sure how the congressman eked out a 38-vote lead over challenger Jim Tracy' in the primary.
The congressman rejects assertions his votes have tiptoed in any liberal direction.
"That seems like that's going to be a pretty tough sell considering we've been ranked the fourth most conservative," said DesJarlais, citing the nonpartisan National Journal's rating based on his 2013 votes.
And, DesJarlais added, "we recently collected a bunch of new awards from Heritage Action and the American Conservative Union."
The National Journal rankings are compiled on votes the publication says reflect economic, social and foreign policy ideology. Some interest groups, such as the Club for Growth, dwell on federal spending and business issues.
DesJarlais said he got dinged by a number of ideological groups for supporting the federal farm bill in 2012.
He said the bill and related amendments "were important to our district -- our No. 1 industry in the 4th District is agriculture -- and I came to Washington to support my district, not chase scorecards," DesJarlais said.
Starrett, though, equates DesJarlais' vote with support for the food stamp program, which was included in the bill.
"Scott DesJarlais has voted for over $700 billion in food stamps over the next 10 years," he said.
Moreover, Starrett charged, "this is somebody who, when nobody was looking, voted for the Export-Import bank."
Congressional records show DesJarlais did vote on May 9, 2012, to suspend House rules and pass the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012. He has since become a critic.
"Now he says that he's against it, but I don't believe he has a core because he voted for the crony-capitalist institution again, as I said, when nobody was looking," Starrett said.
From California to Murfreesboro
Starrett grew up in California but moved to Tennessee for law school. He describes himself as a lifelong conservative. While at Vanderbilt, he worked at the Senate Steering Committee under then-U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and the American Center for Law and Justice.
Starrett also helped head up Tennesseans for Judicial Accountability, which worked unsuccessfully to unseat three Tennessee Supreme Court justices in elections last year.
He's gotten support from a number of prominent conservative bloggers, including Erik Erikson with the Red State Blog, who has a national radio show and a national following.
Erikson called Starrett a "a man of character and conviction."
But some questions how long Starrett has lived in 16-county district, which begins in Cleveland in the east and stretches west to Rutherford County. Some Republicans say he was living in Williamson County, which is in the 7th Congressional District.
"That's a great question," said DesJarlais. "I saw where he tweeted out that he voted for his congressman, [Republican] Marsha Blackburn, in 2014."
Starrett, vice president and special counsel for Los Angeles-based Lion Real Estate Group, said he lived in the 7th District until he moved to Murfreesboro in January.
Asked if a challenge to DesJarlais was a factor in the move, Starrett said, "I'm going to tell you it was on my mind that it was possibly going to occur."
DesJarlais said someone who "was raised out in Beverly Hills" is "going to have a tough time connecting with people in the district."
But Starrett's message seems likely to appeal to constituents in the GOP stronghold. He says the country faces three crises under President Barack Obama: moral, financial and constitutional. He thinks that message will resonate with voters his age who will be saddled with paying off the debt.
The 4th District primary may well not be only a two-man contest. Tracy, who is from Shelbyville, said he's thinking of running again. And state Rep. Ron Travis, R-Dayton, is also eyeing a race.
MTSU's Vile is interested to see how Starrett's criticisms of DesJarlais' voting record will play in the campaign.
"It's hard to account, in my judgment, for DesJarlais's ability to stay there other than the fact that's he perceived to be ideologically aligned with the district," the professor said. "If someone could find a little sunlight there, I suppose that might help."
Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550.