Garrett is a graduate of Louisa County High School and earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Richmond.

After the General Assembly redistricted the State Senate as required by the Virginia Constitution in 2011, Garrett decided to run for an open seat.

[7] During his time in office, he served on the General Laws and Technology, Courts of Justice, Education and Health, and Privileges and Elections committees.

[1] In the November 2016 general election, Garrett defeated Democratic nominee Jane Dittmar, the former chairwoman of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.

Personal use of the staff time included running errands, house sitting, chauffeuring his children and cleaning up after their dog.

[13][14] Garrett clarified later that he intended to run[15] in what political analyst Larry Sabato called "one of the oddest" speeches.