Rep. Robert Aderholt (R) Elected 1996, 5th term
Born:	July 22, 1965, Haleyville
Home:	Haleyville
Education:	Birmingham-Southern Col., B.A. 1987, Samford U., J.D. 1990
Religion:	Congregationalist
Marital Status:	married (Caroline)
Professional Career:	Haleyville Municipal Judge, 1992-96; Asst. Legal Advisor, Gov. Fob James, 1995-96.
DC Office	1433 LHOB20515, 202-225-4876; Fax: 202-225-5587; Web site: www.aderholt.house.gov
State Offices	Cullman, 256-734-6043; Gadsden, 256-546-0201; Jasper, 205-221-2310.
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The Appalachians' corduroy ridges, dividing the Atlantic coast from the interior, are America's coal-and-steel industrial spine, from the black coal country of western Pennsylvania to the red hill country of northern Alabama. Here rose America's two premier steel cities, Pittsburgh and Birmingham. Around both, and for many miles in between them, is the country settled by feisty Scots-Irish farmers in the years between the Revolution and the Civil War. In valley land accessible to railroads are the great steel factories built in the 80 years after the Civil War and smaller factories that produce underwear and tires, glass and chemicals, socks and chickens. Politically, the two regions were separated by the Civil War: Western Pennsylvania was overwhelmingly Republican until the 1930s, while northern Alabama was solidly Democratic through the 1950s. But they shared the same political impulses--populist on economics, conservative on culture--which made them both Democratic heartlands during the New Deal and in congressional politics for years afterwards. Now they seem to have traded partisan allegiances: Western Pennsylvania is Democratic, though less solidly so when the Democrats emphasize cultural liberalism; northern Alabama has moved toward the Republicans, even though it has benefited from massive federal public works programs, and the movement is most pronounced in counties close to Birmingham and along the interstates.

Alabama's 4th Congressional District is a collection of small towns--Cullman, Jasper, Russellville, Fort Payne, Albertville--with gritty Gadsden, population 37,000, as the biggest city. Sandwiched between Huntsville to the north and Birmingham to the south, the 4th crosses the state and the Appalachian ridges, from the Georgia line to the Mississippi line near lightly populated rural counties. This is Alabama's premier Scots-Irish district, with the lowest black percentage of the state's seven congressional districts.

The congressman from the 4th District is Robert Aderholt (pronounced ADD-er-holt), a Republican first elected in 1996 to replace 30-year Democrat Tom Bevill, a senior Appropriations member and benefactor of great federal projects, including the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway project. Aderholt is from Winston County, the one ancestrally Republican county in north Alabama, which opposed secession in the Civil War and declared itself the Free State of Winston. His father was a circuit judge for more than 30 years; his wife's father was a state senator and state commissioner of Agriculture and Industry. In 1992, Aderholt was appointed Haleyville municipal judge; in 1995, he became a top aide to Governor Fob James. With that pedigree, he decided to run for Congress when Bevill retired. As Republican nominee, he faced Democratic state Senator Bob Wilson Jr., who called himself a Democrat ''in the Tom Bevill tradition.'' But in this culturally conservative district, Aderholt didn't hedge on cultural issues. Against abortion, gun control and same-sex marriage, and for school prayer, he said, ''We want to go to Washington to deliver a message, and that is, don't mess with our traditional family values.'' He attacked Wilson for his support from unions and trial lawyers, and invited Newt Gingrich to the district. This was a nationally targeted race, seriously contested, and Aderholt won 50%-48%--one reason Republicans held their House majority in 1996.

Recognizing Aderholt's electoral vulnerability, Republican leaders put him on Appropriations; he has brought home more highway and sewer money than most Republicans. And he hasn't forgotten the social issues. After Alabama's ousted Chief Justice Judge Roy Moore called for a new law to prevent federal judges from interfering with public displays of the Ten Commandments, Aderholt sponsored legislation to work toward that goal. "The acknowledgment of God is not a legitimate subject of review by the federal courts," Aderholt said. When the state's public health department required clinics to offer patients morning-after birth control pills, Aderholt joined the local Christian Coalition and got HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson to clarify that the federal government does not mandate emergency contraception services.

Aderholt's voting record is generally conservative, but he is not a reliable free trade vote. He supported quotas on steel imports and sponsored a bill assessing additional antidumping duties on foreign steel in 1999, and he reached out further to industrial unions with his vote against PNTR with China. But after George W. Bush was elected--and after Aderholt got protection for the local sock industry (Fort Payne, with 150 plants, proclaims itself the Sock Capital of the World)--he voted for trade promotion authority in 2002. In the 108th Congress he opposed free trade agreements with Chile, Morocco and Singapore but voted in favor of the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement. Back home, when a group of local paleontologists found in an inactive mine a large trove of fossil tracks that were believed to date back more than 300 million years, Aderholt moved to provide federal protection for the site.

Aderholt faced serious challenges in 1998 and 2000, but has won easily ever since. 2004 Democratic nominee Carl Cole, a recent University of Alabama Law School graduate, said Aderholt "sides with big business over the real people" and drove 20,000 miles across the district in his campaign. But Aderholt pointed out that Cole would cast his first vote in the House "for San Francisco liberal Nancy Pelosi, who's for gay marriage, opposes the rights of gun owners and is for partial birth abortions." Aderholt won, 75%-25%. He appears to have entrenched himself in what used to be a swing seat.

Committees

• Appropriations (21st of 37 R): Interior, Environment & Related Agencies; Military Quality of Life & Veterans Affairs & Related Agencies (Vice Chmn.); Transportation, Treasury, HUD, the Judiciary & District of Columbia.

Group Ratings (More Info)
	ADA	ACLU	AFS	LCV	ITIC	NTU	COC	ACU	NTLC	CHC
2004	0	0	14	9	67	49	100	92	70	100	--
2003	10	--	0	0	--	61	89	88	--	--	--

National Journal Ratings (More Info)
	2003 LIB	--	2003 CONS		2004 LIB	--	2004 CONS
Economic	0%	--	91%		27%	--	72%
Social	17%	--	79%		0%	--	91%
Foreign	23%	--	71%		4%	--	93%
For National Journal's complete 2004 Vote Ratings, as well as previous ratings dating back to 1995, please click here.

Key Votes Of The 108th Congress (More Info)
1. Drilling in ANWR Y 2. Approve Bush Tax Cuts Y 3. Medicare/Rx Bill Y 4. Bar Overtime Pay Regs. N 5. DC School Vouchers Y 6. Ban Human Cloning Y		7. Restrict Gun Liability Y  8. Ban Partial-Birth Abortion Y  9. Ban Same-Sex Marriage Y 10. Fund Iraq War Y 11. Bar Cuba Embargo Funds N 12. Intelligence Reorg. Y

Election Results (More Info)
	Candidate	Total Votes	Percent	Expenditures
2004 general	Robert Aderholt (R)	191,110	75%	$735,352
	Carl Cole (D)	64,278	25%	$25,496
	Other	336	0%
2004 primary	Robert Aderholt (R)	unopposed
2002 general	Robert Aderholt (R)	139,705	87%	$662,595
	Tony Hughes McLendon (Lib)	20,858	13%
Prior winning percentages: 2000 (61%); 1998 (56%); 1996 (50%)

2004 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 186,509 (71%) Kerry (D) 73,504 (28%)

2000 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 141,285 (61%) Gore (D) 87,062 (37%)

For 1992 and 1996 presidential results in the Fourth District, please see the Almanac 2000 online. Please note that these older returns reflect district lines as they existed prior to 2002 redistricting.

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: R +16
• District Size: 8,524 square miles
• Population in 2000: 635,300; 26.5% urban; 73.5% rural
• Median Household Income: $31,344; 14.7% are below the poverty line
• Occupation: 40.8% blue collar; 46.0% white collar; 13.2% gray collar; 12.9% military veterans
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 90.4% White, 5.1% Black, 0.2% Asian, 0.4% Amer. Indian, 0.0% Hawaiian, 0.8% Two+ races, 0.0% Other, 3.0% Hispanic origin
• Ancestry: 21.3% USA, 8.2% Irish, 6.8% English
• Click here for statewide demographic data.