It has not been the best week for U.S. Representative Tom Garrett*, a freshman Republican congressman in Virginia and staunch member of the very conservative House Freedom Caucus. Reports had been circulating for some time that Garrett was telling friends that he was probably going to fold his reelection campaign, even though the filing deadline had come and gone. The resignation of his chief of staff and poor fundraising numbers didn’t help. But then on Thursday he held a press conference (called “bizarre” and “rambling” by The Hill) that eventually led to a belligerent confirmation of his candidacy:
