Congressman Robert Aderholt wins 14th term
Congressman Robert Aderholt on Wednesday released a statement thanking the voters of Alabama’s Fourth Congressional District for electing him to a 14th term representing them in the U.S. House of Representatives. Despite facing both a Democratic and a Libertarian opponent, Aderholt was elected in a landslide in Tuesday’s general election. “It is my honor to have been chosen by the voters of Alabama’s 4th Congressional District to serve another term in Congress,” Aderholt stated. “I am truly humbled by the overwhelming support I have received. When the new Congress begins January 3rd, I’m confident Republicans will have a majority in the U.S. House. Our focus will be on the economy, fuel prices, securing the border, strengthening our military, and holding the Biden Administration accountable.” Aderholt received over 84.1% of the votes cast on Tuesday (164,371). Democratic challenger Rick Neighbors received 13.6% of the votes (26,628 votes). Libertarian candidate Johnny Cochran only received 2.2% (4,294 votes). Alabama’s Fourth Congressional District has a reputation as being the most Republican district in the entire country. The landslide victory is a testament to Aderholt’s popularity as well as CD4’s staunch support of the Republican Party and its principles. While the state of Alabama is able to count all of its election results within four hours of the polls closing, other states struggle to accomplish the task, and it may be days or even weeks for some states to complete the project. As of press time, Democrats have won 184 House seats and Republicans 207. The votes are still being counted in 44 congressional districts. Republicans are still optimistic that they can win the 11 seats necessary to take control of the House of Representatives in January. Congress will meet again this year. One important issue the current Congress has to address is passing a continuing resolution to fund the government into the new year. “While I’m looking forward to the new Congress, we still have a lot left to do in this current session that resumes next week,” Aderholt said. “Democrats will still be in power until January, and we will have to fight against any radical policy they try and push through Congress in the time before Republicans take over. “ If Republicans take control of the House of Representatives, Aderholt is expected to assume a top role – possibly as Chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Aderholt is currently the ranking Republican member on the Committee. With the pending retirement of Sen. Richard Shelby at the end of this term, Aderholt will be the senior member of Alabama’s congressional delegation. Aderholt was an attorney who served as assistant legal advisor for Alabama Gov. Fob James prior to his election to Congress for the open seat. He is a native of Haleyville, where he once served as the municipal judge. He has a bachelor’s degree from Birmingham Southern University and a law degree from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Dale Strong wins Alabama’s 5th Congressional District seat
Republican Dale Strong has been elected to the north Alabama congressional district being vacated by U.S. Rep Mo Brooks. Strong on Tuesday defeated Democrat Kathy Warner-Stanton and Libertarian P. J. Greer to win Alabama’s 5th Congressional District, the state’s only open congressional seat this year. Brooks did not seek another term, choosing instead to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby. The six-term congressman lost the Republican primary runoff to former business lobby leader Katie Britt, who was elected. Strong is chairman of the Madison County Commission and a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician. He won the GOP nomination after defeating Casey Wardynski, a former Huntsville school superintendent, in a primary runoff. The state’s six other congressional districts also were decided: — In the 1st Congressional District of southwest Alabama, incumbent Republican Rep. Jerry Carl defeated Libertarian Alexander Remrey. ADVERTISEMENT — In the 2nd Congressional District in southeast Alabama, incumbent Republican Rep. Barry Moore was reelected, defeating Democrat Phyllis Harvey-Hall and Libertarian Jonathan Realz. — In east Alabama’s 3rd Congressional District, incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Rogers defeated Democrat Lin Veasey Democrat, Libertarian Thomas Sickofdc Casson and independent Douglas A. Bell. — In the 4th Congressional District of north-central Alabama, incumbent Republican Rep. Robert Aderholt was reelected, defeating Democrat Rick Neighbors and Libertarian Johnny C. Cochran. — In the 6th Congressional District of central Alabama, incumbent Republican Rep. Gary Palmer defeated Libertarian Andria Chieffo. — In west Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, Incumbent Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell was reelected. She defeated Republican Beatrice Nichols and Libertarian Gavin Goodman. Sewell was the only Democrat in Alabama’s congressional delegation. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Johnny Cochran challenging Robert Aderholt for congressional seat; claims to be more ‘fiscally conservative’
Johnny Cochran is the Libertarian candidate running to represent Alabama’s Fourth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Cochran is challenging incumbent Congressman Robert Aderholt. “For the last 25 years, AL’s 4th Congressional district has been represented by Robert Aderholt,” Cochran said in a statement. “He often runs unopposed, and if someone does run against him, he wins by a typical spread of 80%-20%. Many politicos consider Alabama’s 4th to be the most Republican district in the entire country. While Aderholt represents pro-life conservatives well, his record on fiscal responsibility is terrible.” Even though Cochran is a Libertarian, he claims that he would be more fiscally conservative than Aderholt. “Aderholt has a lifetime score from the conservative Heritage group of 66% and a lifetime score from the Club for Growth of 63%,” Cochran continued. “How come his scores are so low? The national debt has increased 600% during Aderholt’s 25 years in D.C. from $5 trillion to now over $31 trillion. Aderholt voted for a giant portion of that spending. Whether it was bloated omnibus spending bills or things like Obama’s Cash for Clunkers, Aderholt is a big fan of spending our hard-earned tax dollars. He routinely votes to increase the debt ceiling, the equivalent of kicking the can down the road for younger generations to deal with.” Rick Neighbors is the Democratic nominee running against Aderholt and Cochran on the ballot on Tuesday. Cochran claims that he, and not Neighbors, has the best chance of unseating Aderholt. “The historical voting data shows that Democrat Rick Neighbors is unlikely to win,” Cochran claimed. “2020 is a year where Democrats made gains all over the country, Mr. Neighbors lost 82%-18%. The Democrats in D.C. are doing such a poor job that many are projecting a “red wave.” Being generous, Mr. Neighbors isn’t likely to break 30% – aka, he can’t win.” Cochran stated that if he wins, “It is a victory for fiscal responsibility. It would send shockwaves to the Establishment class in D.C. and perhaps spook enough politicians to reign in their blatant disregard of squandering our hard-earned tax dollars.” Cochran claims that if he loses, but “Outperforms most third-party candidates, maybe comes in second, at a minimum, it should give pause to Mr. Aderholt. If he wants to continue being a resident of metro D.C., perhaps it will cause him to vote in a more fiscally responsible manner.” Cochran says that he supports term limits, and if eight years is enough for a President, then it should be enough for a member of Congress. Cochran is married and the father of two. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama and Vestavia Hills High School. The Cochrans live in Tuscaloosa. Republicans are hoping for a red-wave election that will vault them into control of one or both Houses of Congress. If the Republicans take control of the House of Representatives (and Aderholt is re-elected), there is a strong likelihood that Aderholt would be the Chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. The Libertarians have 65 candidates running for office across Alabama. Polls open at 7:00 am on Tuesday and close at 7:00 pm. Voters must bring a valid photo ID with them to the polls in order to participate in any Alabama election. If you do not have a photo ID, you can obtain a free photo ID from your local board of registrars or by contacting the Alabama Secretary of State’s office. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Robert Aderholt says that diesel fuel shortage is due to Biden’s energy failure
Congressman Robert Aderholt released the following statement on Monday criticizing President Joe Biden for the worsening diesel fuel shortage impacting several states in the southeast, including Alabama. “My staff and I are closely monitoring the current issues with the diesel fuel supply in the Southeast,” Rep. Aderholt said. “It’s no secret we are in this situation because of President Biden’s failure to focus on American energy. European nations, because of overzealous green energy policies, are already feeling the pain of these type problems, and now the Biden Administration is following suit here in the U.S., with the same results. I’m ready to do what I can to help ease the impact of any diesel shortages in Alabama. I also recently sent a letter to President Biden, with many of my Republican colleagues, urging him to put together a five-year energy plan to ensure that these types of shortages and price hikes never happen again.” Diesel is essential to the U.S. trucking industry and agriculture. Farmers are trying to finish harvesting their fall crops and are having to pay prices approaching $6 a gallon for fuel. On October 14, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that the United States had only 25 days of diesel fuel left in tanks and fuel storage depots – this even as the Biden Administration was in the process of releasing the last oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Republicans, like Aderholt, have blamed Biden and his controversial Green New Deal policies for the fuel shortage, which threatens to further exacerbate both the supply chain bottlenecks and inflation. Patrick De Haan, who heads petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, however, told Newsweek that Biden is not to blame for the current low inventories. “Biden is not to blame—this is due to lack of refining capacity, which has fallen 1 million barrels a day, primarily due to COVID-19 in 2020 curbing demand,” De Haan said. “Hurricane Ida badly damaged a refinery in 2021, and an explosion took out the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery in Pennsylvania in 2019. This is simply not enough refining capacity exacerbated by Russia’s war on Ukraine and countries looking for supply elsewhere that isn’t Russian.” The Administration has diverted some diesel shipments that were bound for Europe back to the United States in an effort to avoid running out of fuel by Thanksgiving. The decline in American refining capacity may not be Biden’s fault, but he and his party, however, control the Whitehouse and both Houses of Congress, and Americans are increasingly frustrated by the rising prices and the high interest rates. Republicans hope that those frustrations will spill over to the November 8 midterm elections. Republicans are encouraging a red wave to give them back control of the House as well as increase their strength in state legislatures across the country. “We are here on election eve, and I am so excited by what we are going to see here Tuesday,” said Aderholt, predicting a Republican wave election on Tuesday. “If we are going to put this nation back on the right track, we are going to have to do it by putting in Republicans from the top to the bottom of the ballot,” said Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Katie Britt. “We have to stand up and fight for our children and grandchildren, or they might not have much left to fight for.” Robert Aderholt has represented Alabama’s Fourth Congressional District since 1996. On Tuesday, he faces challenges from Democratic nominee Rick Neighbors and Libertarian nominee Johnny Cochran. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Robert Aderholt and Republican leadership urge Joe Biden to invest in American energy
Congressman Robert Aderholt joined House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), HEAT Co-Chairs Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-South Carolina) and Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma), and 126 other members in a letter led by Whip Scalise to President Joe Biden urging the President to reverse what the GOP calls “his anti-American energy policies. “President Biden has no plans, or desire, to lower energy costs for the long term,” Rep. Aderholt warned on social media after Biden made his pre-election final release of America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves. “Instead, he releases oil from our emergency supply to try and bring them down ahead of the election. Basically, a gimmick. We need more American energy and a real energy plan. Not an election gimmick.” Congressman Mike Rogers agreed with Aderholt’s assessment of the release four weeks before the election. “Biden is depleting our Strategic Petroleum Reserve (which is reserved for emergency situations) for political gain,” Rogers wrote on Facebook. The GOP members of Congress urged Biden to issue a five-year offshore oil and natural gas leasing plan after Interior Secretary Deb Haaland let the previous five-year plan expire. “We write to express our deep concern with your ongoing war on American energy. Unfortunately, since taking office, you have fulfilled your campaign promises to shut down American oil and gas production,” Scalise et. al. wrote. “As a result, America is no longer energy independent, and our nation is less secure. In order to reduce the dramatically higher energy costs your actions have placed on hard-working families, we strongly request you reverse course and work with us to unleash American energy. Specifically, we ask you to take immediate action by issuing a five-year leasing plan that includes regular annual lease sales in America’s offshore areas.” “Undermining oil and gas production has severe consequences,” the GOP Congressmembers wrote. “For example, Europe is in a full-blown energy crisis, and we are seeing the same issues manifest in California with their governor telling people to turn thermostats above 78 degrees, avoid using appliances, and limit charging electric vehicles when they get home from work, all while he mandated a ban on fossil-fuel cars. Europe and California should both serve as a cautionary tale against the devastating anti-fossil fuel policies your administration is currently pursuing. To be clear, already sky-high energy prices will likely worsen unless you immediately reverse course and drastically increase exploration, leasing, and production of oil and natural gas here at home. And keep in mind your extremist policies are hurting low and middle-income families the hardest.” The letter urges President Biden to immediately announce a new offshore leasing plan and unleash American energy production. The GOP lawmakers claim that driving more investment into United States’ energy sector would lower gas and electricity prices for struggling families and guarantee a steady flow of American energy into the future. “We’ve seen the future of Biden and [Nancy] Pelosi’s reckless Green New Deal policies play out in Europe with mushrooming energy costs, and allowing the same devastating fate for American families would be unconscionable,” Scalise said in a statement. “Instead of begging OPEC and Russia to increase oil production, I have called on President Biden to look to places like offshore Louisiana and Port Fourchon in my district so we can unleash American energy, create good jobs, and lower costs for hard-working families.” Democrats and some environmentalists claim that increased exploration and production of American fossil fuels could have deleterious effects on the world’s climate. The letter was also signed by Republican Policy Committee Chairman Gary Palmer and Alabama Reps. Jerry Carl and Barry Moore. Aderholt has represented Alabama’s Fourth Congressional District since 1996. He faces Democratic nominee Rick Neighbors and Libertarian Johnny Cochran in the November 8 general election. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Alabama congressional races to feature one runoff in June
Control of Alabama’s seven-member congressional delegation likely will remain firmly in Republican hands, but not without a contest. Two GOP candidates are in a runoff for the open District 5 seat in north Alabama, and three Republican incumbents and the only Democratic member face opposition in November. All the incumbents will be heavy favorites to return to Washington. Neither District 1 Republican Rep. Jerry Carl of Mobile nor Rep. Gary Palmer of Hoover in District 6 had any opposition, meaning each will get another two-year term. Here is a look at the races in the state’s remaining five congressional districts: DISTRICT 2 First-term GOP Rep. Barry Moore of Enterprise did not have any primary opposition and will face Democrat Phyllis Harvey-Hall in November. Harvey-Hall, a teacher and community volunteer, defeated newcomer Vimal Patel in Tuesday’s election in heavily Republican southeast Alabama. DISTRICT 3 Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Saks, who was first elected 20 years ago, easily defeated Michael Joiner of Pell City for the GOP nomination in east-central Alabama. Rogers will face Democrat Lin Veasey in the fall. DISTRICT 4 Democrat Rick Neighbors, a veteran and longtime apparel worker from Phil Campbell, defeated Rhonda Gore for the chance to go up against GOP Rep. Robert Aderholt, a 12-term incumbent from Haleyville. Solidly Republican, District 4 covers most of northwest Alabama. DISTRICT 5 The lone runoff in Alabama’s congressional races will occur in north Alabama’s 5th District, where Republican Rep. Mo Brooks gave up the seat to run for Senate. Madison County Commission chair Dale Strong and Casey Wardynski, a former Huntsville school superintendent, advanced to a runoff that will be held June 21. The winner will face Democrat Kathy Warner-Stanton of Decatur, who defeated Charlie Thompson in the primary. DISTRICT 7 Rep. Terri Sewell of Selma, the only Democrat in the state delegation, did not have any primary opposition and will face Republican nominee Beatrice Nichols of Moundville in November. The sprawling district includes the Black Belt of west Alabama plus parts of Birmingham and Montgomery. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
