Scott DesJarlais

Scott DesJarlais
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Lincoln Davis
Personal details
Born	Scott Eugene DesJarlais (1964-02-21) February 21, 1964 Des Moines, Iowa
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Susan DesJarlais (div. 2001) Amy DesJarlais (m. 2002)
Children	3
Residence	Jasper, Tennessee
Alma mater	University of South Dakota
Profession	Physician
Religion	Episcopalian
Website	Official website

Scott Eugene DesJarlais (/ˈdeɪʒɑːrleɪ/; born February 21, 1964) is an American politician and physician currently serving as U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 4th congressional district after winning re-election on November 4, 2014. The district, the state's largest, stretches across a large and mostly rural swath of East and Middle Tennessee. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life, education, and medical career

DesJarlais was born in 1964 in Des Moines, Iowa to Joe DesJarlais, a barber, and Sylvia, a registered nurse. He grew up in Sturgis, South Dakota. Desjarlais earned his undergraduate degree in Chemistry and Psychology from the University of South Dakota in 1987 and later his Doctor of Medicine from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine in 1991. He moved to East Tennessee in 1993 to practice medicine as a generalist.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2010

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee, 2010 § District 4*

In 2009, DesJarlais entered politics, filing papers to challenge Democratic incumbent Lincoln Davis, as well as Independents Paul H. Curtis, James Gray, Richard S. Johnson, and Gerald York. DesJarlais defeated Davis 57%–39%, the third-largest defeat of a Democratic incumbent in the 2010 cycle, and the first time that an incumbent had been unseated in the district since 1983.

2012

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee, 2012 § District 4

DesJarlais was challenged by Democratic nominee and state senator Eric Stewart. Prior to the 2012 election, the Fourth District was significantly altered as a result of redistricting. Notably, Murfreesboro, formerly the heart of the 6th District, was shifted into the 4th. The redrawn 4th contains about half of the constituents who resided in the former 4th district, with 14 of 24 counties being moved elsewhere by redistricting. For a time, it was thought that DesJarlais would face a primary challenge from state senator Bill Ketron, a Murfreesboro resident and the chairman of the state senate redistricting committee. However, Ketron decided that he wouldn't run.

DesJarlais defeated Stewart 56%–44% joining all the other incumbent members of Tennessee congressional delegation who also won their re-election bids.

2014

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee, 2014 § District 4

DesJarlais was considered one of the most vulnerable Congressmen, because of revelations in October 2012 that he had prescribed drugs to a patient with whom he was having an affair and had pressured his former wife and former mistress to have several abortions. He was re-elected in 2012 with a reduced majority. Despite these vulnerabilities, DesJarlais managed to hold his seat.

State Senator Jim Tracy challenged DesJarlais in the primary. At the end of June 2013, Tracy had raised nearly $750,000 (including over $300,000 in the second quarter of 2013) for his bid. He raised an additional $150,000 in the fourth quarter and reported $840,000 cash-on-hand. By contrast, at the end of September, DesJarlais reported $170,000 cash-on-hand. DesJarlais won the primary by a margin of 38 votes. Tracy decided not to challenge the results, despite citing irregularities.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry
• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
• Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
  • Subcommittee on Health Care, Benefits, and Administrative Rules

Caucus Memberships

• Congressional Cement Caucus

Personal life

DesJarlais and his first wife, Susan, finalized their divorce in 2001; they have one child. DesJarlais and his second wife, Amy, met and married in 2002.

Controversies

During the election campaigns, events from DesJarlais' personal life became public, making the 2012 race against Stewart "one of the ugliest Tennessee congressional races in decades". Stories that surfaced included the fact that during the divorce proceedings, DesJarlais' first wife Susan had alleged that her ex-husband engaged in "violent and threatening behavior". Court filings revealed that he had at least four affairs. One was with a female patient. According to the Huffington Post, tapes that DesJarlais himself recorded, show that he pressured her to have an abortion after she became pregnant. A second woman came forward, stating that she began dating DesJarlais while she was his patient. She alleges that the two smoked marijuana together and he prescribed pain medications for her while at his house.

In October 2012, the non-profit group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington requested that the Tennessee Department of Health investigate evidence that DesJarlais had a sexual relationship with a patient, an allegation that could open the congressman to disciplinary action for potentially violating medical ethics. In November 2012, the same group filed another complaint against DesJarlais with the Office of Congressional Ethics, claiming that the Congressman lied about a telephone conversation with a former patient and mistress. On November 15, 2012—two weeks after the election—the Chattanooga Times Free Press obtained a transcript of DesJarlais' 2001 divorce proceeding with his first wife. It revealed that DesJarlais had admitted under oath to at least six sexual relationships with people he came in contact with while chief of staff at Grandview Medical Center in Jasper. Among them were at least two patients. The state Democratic Party had fought to get the transcript released before the election, but the transcript—which ran to 679 typed pages—was not complete at the time. The transcript also revealed that contrary to his staunch anti-abortion stance as a congressman, he had counseled his then-wife to have two abortions and pressured one of the patients with whom he'd had an affair to get an abortion. Additional transcripts revealed that he had prescribed pain pills to at least one patient with whom he'd had an affair. He was later fined $500 by the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners for the affairs.

Health

In July 2014, DesJarlais announced he was undergoing aggressive chemotherapy to treat cancer in his neck which had spread to a lymph node. While the exact specifics of the cancer were not disclosed, Desjarlais has indicated the cancer has affected his voice and is incurable 10% of the time. The cancer and chemotherapy have been given as the cause of over forty pounds of weight loss, limiting Desjarlais' ability to make appearances and campaign.

See also

• List of federal political sex scandals in the United States
• Physicians in US Congress

External links

• Congressman Scott DesJarlais official U.S. House site
• Scott DesJarlais for Congress
• Scott DesJarlais at DMOZ
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Lincoln Davis	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 4th congressional district January 3, 2011 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
United States order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Jeff Denham R-California	United States Representatives by seniority 241st	Succeeded by Sean Duffy R-Wisconsin