Grant Starrett

Grant E. Starrett
Residence Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Alma mater Stanford University, Vanderbilt Law
Occupation Attorney
Political party Republican
Religion Presbyterian (PCA)
Website GrantforTN.com

Grant Starrett is an American conservative activist and attorney from Murfreesboro, TN. He is a Republican candidate for Congress in Tennessee’s 4th District.

Early life and Education

Starrett was born to Peter and Cam Starrett. He grew up in Los Angeles, California, where his parents had relocated for work, a couple of blocks from Ronald Reagan’s home.

For college, Starrett attended Stanford University, for which he wrote his application essay on James K. Polk, his favorite president. While at Stanford, he founded the Stanford Conservative Society and was an active member of the Reformed University Fellowship.

After graduating from Stanford with a degree in History, Starrett attended Vanderbilt Law School. While at Vanderbilt, he was the President of the Federalist Society, President of the Vanderbilt Law Republicans, an officer of the Christian Legal Society, and was a guest editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.[1][2]

During college and law school, Starrett worked at the Republican National Committee, the White House, Fox News under Bill O’Reilly, the Senate Steering Committee under conservative Senator Jim DeMint, and the American Center for Law and Justice under Jay Sekulow.[3]

Career

Starrett is Vice President and Special Counsel at the Los Angeles-based Lion Real Estate Group. Most recently, he co-founded and served as President of Tennesseans for Judicial Accountability.[4] After graduating from Vanderbilt Law School, Starrett served as Coalitions Coordinator and Chair of Young Professionals for Mitt Romney in his 2012 bid to defeat President Barack Obama.[5]

Political activism

While Starrett was at Stanford he found himself disappointed with the College Republicans chapter there. He founded the Stanford Conservative Society instead and grew it to over 500 members.[6] Starrett was the Chair of "Students for Mitt" in the 2008 election and served as Romney's Coalitions Coordinator and Young Professionals Chair during his 2012 Campaign. [5]

After passing the Tennessee bar exam, Starrett became the chairman of the Nashville Federalist Society and co-founded Tennesseans for Judicial Accountability in 2013 to restore constitutional order to the judicial selection process.[5]

2016 Congressional campaign

In early 2015 Starrett announced that he would be challenging his district's embattled incumbent Congressman, Scott DesJarlais in the Republican primary. So far, Starrett has raised nearly $1.2 million in his bid for Congress and has influential support in the state from conservatives like Lee Beaman, an auto dealership owner that serves as the Finance Chairmen of the campaign.[7] [8] On the campaign trail, according to Roll Call, Starrett has been “making a name for himself, devoting attention to the more rural, blue-collar areas.”[9] The Washington Examiner recognized Grant Starrett as one of their “New Voices for 2015”.[10]

DesJarlais had come under fire for his voting record as well as personal and ethical scandals.[11][12][13] The influential conservative blog Power Line noted that “In terms of policy, DesJarlais isn’t a strong conservative.”[14]

DesJarlais also faced a primary for the Republican nomination in 2014, which he survived by just 38 votes.[6]

Starrett's campaign racked up endorsements from the conservative leaders like Erick Erickson[15] and Hugh Hewitt,[16] and national press coverage for its impressive underdog effort.[17][18][19]

Mark Levin's Conservative Review has said "DesJarlais puts forward a carefully orchestrated rhetorical mirage void of significant conservative principles," and that "A more careful look at this record, however, reveals more than a few constitutional blind spots" noting his support for green energy subsidies to Solyndra and DesJarlais' vote against a balanced budget amendment.[20]

References

  1. ↑ "Young Republican Explores Primary vs. Scott DesJarlais". Rothenblog. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  2. ↑ http://www.harvard-jlpp.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/SymposiumMasthead-t-and-e-2.0.pdf
  3. ↑ "Local attorney to challenge DesJarlais". DNJ. April 2, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Grant Starrett courts congressional voters at City Cafe". DNJ. April 29, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "NationalJournal". National Journal. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  6. 1 2 "introducing Grant Starrett [Updated]". Power Line. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Lee Beaman is finance chairman for DesJarlais challenger". The Tennessean. September 18, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Starrett reports raising more than $1.2 million in 4th District primary". Times Free Press. April 15, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Planned Parenthood Gives DesJarlais Challenger an Opening". At the Races. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  10. ↑ "New Voices for 2015". Washington Examiner. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Scott Desjarlais Abortion". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  12. ↑ Jaime Fuller (August 7, 2014). "Rep. Scott DesJarlais engaged in multiple extramarital affairs. He still might win Thursday.". Washington Post. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  13. ↑ Steve Benen. "Scandal-plagued DesJarlais faces uncertain fate". MSNBC. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Grant Starrett for Congress". Power Line. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Grant Starrett for Congress". RedState. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Hugh Hewitt - Grant Starrett for Congress". Grant Starrett for Congress. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Philandering Rep. Scott DesJarlais Gets A Fresh Primary Challenger". The Huffington Post. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Rep. DesJarlais gets another challenger in GOP primary". TheHill. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Activist Starrett to challenge DesJarlais in GOP primary". The Washingtion Times. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  20. ↑ https://www.conservativereview.com/members/scott-desjarlais/

External Links

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