The new congressman from the 4th District is Scott DesJarlais, a Republican elected in 2010 following one of the year’s most negative campaigns. He defeated four-term Democratic Rep. Lincoln Davis. Read More

The new congressman from the 4th District is Scott DesJarlais, a Republican elected in 2010 following one of the year’s most negative campaigns. He defeated four-term Democratic Rep. Lincoln Davis.

DesJarlais (DAY-zhar-lay) grew up in Sturgis, S.D. His father was a barber, and his mother was a registered nurse at a veterans’ hospital. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and psychology from the University of South Dakota in 1987. After receiving his medical degree from the school in 1991, DesJarlais moved to Jasper, Tenn., where he practiced medicine.

The House race was DesJarlais’s first bid for elected office, and he said it was motivated by his patients’ concerns about the foundering economy and their fears about losing their jobs. Davis had been considered the most conservative Democrat in the Tennessee delegation, and had earned the endorsements of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Rifle Association, and National Right to Life. DesJarlais, billed himself as a “doctor, not a politician.” Davis made headlines with accusations made by DesJarlais’ first wife, Susan, who claimed that he physically intimidated her during their 2000 divorce and threatened to commit suicide. The Republican’s campaign called the charges “completely false,” and the ad exposed Davis to accusations of mudslinging. Davis also tried to draw attention to his votes against the Democrats’ health care overhaul and their cap-and-trade bill to limit greenhouse gas emissions. But even his limited cooperation with President Barack Obama in voting for the $787 billion economic stimulus bill cost him votes. DesJarlais won 57% to 39% for Davis, with minor candidates splitting the rest.

In the House, DesJarlais was among the GOP freshmen to back an unsuccessful $100 billion cut in the fiscal 2011 budget, but supported the final budget agreement cutting less than half that amount. He also held a series of forums on Tennessee’s methamphetamine problems and joined fellow Tennessee freshman Republican Chuck Fleischmann in opposing an Energy Department plan to consolidate management of Oak Ridge’s Y-12 weapons plant with the one at Texas’ Pantex facility. He told The News-Sentinel of Knoxville after his first 100 days in office that “the process is even more broken than what I anticipated.”