On Monday, Justin Holcomb qualified to run in the Republican primary for Alabama’s Fourth Congressional District (CD4). Holcomb is challenging incumbent Congressman Robert Aderholt, who has represented CD4 for 27 years.
Alabama Today spoke with Holcomb at the Tuscaloosa County BamaCarry event in Northport Monday night.
Holcomb said he did not want to be a career politician but instead wanted to represent the people for two terms and then return home. Holcomb, a businessman, said that he is self-funding his campaign.
Holcomb told the BamaCarry group that if the federal government tries to take their guns, “They will have to arrest me first.”
Holcomb promised to abolish the FBI and the ATF if elected.
“The alphabet soup federal agencies were not the intent of the Founders,” Holcomb explained.
Holcomb said that he previously started a corporation that he took public and which is now being traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Holcomb said in a statement that he has “spent the last eight years fighting for Alabama’s core values nationwide, working to defend and promote President Donald Trump and his initiatives, and spent several of those years working in the private sector creating jobs and entering a company into the public market via the Nasdaq.”
Holcomb promised to “bring institutional change to the federal government.”
“Our campaign has visited nearly every county in the Fourth District over the past two weeks, and there is one resounding concern we hear time and time again: we need new leaders in Washington,” Holcomb said. “The People of Alabama shouldn’t be underestimated, but we have been for far too long. We will change that on March 5th, putting the country and the world on notice that we will never be taken advantage of again by career politicians who try and sedate our strong political beliefs and desires with feel-good stories about doing the absolute bare minimum in Washington, while cowering at the rear as President Trump takes shot after shot from the left and fake Republicans. We don’t send leaders to Washington to protect their own careers while they endlessly steer our government into chaotic wars and economic disasters; we send them to make our People more powerful, respected, and competitive in the global arena. Change is necessary in our system of government, and we will show the world what change looks like on March 5th.”
On Monday, Aderholt appeared to acknowledge that he would be facing a challenger in the primary.
“I’m confident a Republican can win back the White House next year,” Aderholt said in a statement. “And that’s why the House of Representatives needs to stay in Republican control and why we need experienced leadership ready to tackle our nation’s problems on day one. This is not the time for on-the-job training.”
Aderholt added, “In the 2022 election, I was humbled to receive 84% of the vote, the most of any Congressional candidate in Alabama. I thank you for that vote of confidence. But I never take your vote for granted, and I am asking for your vote again.”
Aderholt has represented CD4 since 1996. He has not had a Republican primary opponent since 2018, when he received 81.5% of the GOP primary vote over Anthony Blackmon.
Holcomb is undeterred.
“We are on track to have a resounding victory, one that will shake up the political landscape and put Alabama on the map as a leader in the country that gets the respect we rightfully deserve,” Holcomb concluded.
Holcomb is a native Alabamian. He has a degree from UAB and attended the United States Naval War College. Holcomb spent some time as a conservative writer before going to work on Capitol Hill. He worked for President Trump before starting his own company.
The major party primaries will be on March 5th.
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