Robert Aderholt is the incumbent U.S. Representative for Alabama's 4th Congressional District, first elected in 1996. He serves as Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, and Education, and is a member of the full Appropriations Committee. Before Congress, he served as Assistant Legal Advisor to Governor Fob James and as Municipal Judge for Haleyville, Alabama.
Aderholt says healthcare should be reliable and affordable, supports access to care through private-sector options, and opposes the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). His current campaign materials also support federal health-coverage restrictions on abortion. More recently, he praised a $144 million Rural Health Transformation Program investment for Alabama, emphasizing expanded rural access, telehealth, mental-health and maternal care, modernized infrastructure, and workforce development.
Aderholt says he supports expanding jobs in Alabama's 4th District through lower taxes, reduced regulation, common-sense trade policies and strong immigration standards. His campaign also says he supports American manufacturing and supply-chain independence, rural broadband for small businesses, expanded domestic energy production, and support for small businesses.
Aderholt says he supports “common sense energy solutions” rather than Green New Deal policies, and favors expanding U.S. oil and gas exploration, including opening the Keystone Pipeline, to promote energy independence and lower prices. His campaign issues page also says he supports ramping up domestic energy exploration and production.
Aderholt identifies as strongly anti-abortion and supports protecting unborn life, restricting federal funding and coverage for abortion, and expanding abortion alternatives. In 2026, he backed making permanent a ban on federal funding for abortion providers, eliminating Medicaid and ACA tax-credit funding for elective abortions, and maintaining the Hyde Amendment; he also said after Dobbs that he remains committed to defending the sanctity of life and protecting the unborn.
Aderholt says the United States should secure and control its borders before pursuing broader immigration reform, using physical barriers, updated technology, and more border personnel; he opposes automatically granting amnesty to people who entered illegally. On June 9, 2026, he said he supported House passage of S. 2, the Secure America Act, describing its $70 billion in funding for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement through 2029 as necessary to secure the border and support enforcement agents.
Aderholt states that he supports the constitutional right to bear arms and responsible gun ownership, opposes efforts to restrict or confiscate firearms, and supports expanding gun freedoms related to the right to carry. His campaign site also cites his opposition to prior federal gun-control efforts and support from gun-rights organizations.
Aderholt's campaign says he supports maintaining American global leadership and a strong national defense. It says he condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine, supported additional U.S. arms and materiel for Ukraine, favors increased sanctions on Russia, supports strengthening NATO by requiring members to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense, and backs increased U.S. forces in Eastern Europe to deter Russian aggression. On China, the campaign says he favors reducing reliance on China for essential military, medical, and security supplies, stronger enforcement against intellectual-property theft, expanded U.S. manufacturing, and condemns China's human-rights violations against Christians and other religious minorities.
Aderholt’s current campaign issues page does not articulate a broad civil-rights or equality agenda. It says he supports law-enforcement improvements including better training, de-escalation protocols, and data collection, and states that he has condemned China’s human-rights violations against Christians and other religious minorities. In a directly relevant prior House vote, while representing Alabama’s 4th District, he voted against the Equality Act (H.R. 5) in 2019.
Aderholt says the federal government should support education through funding and national priorities but should not direct day-to-day classroom curricula or local education spending. He argues that parents and state and local officials should determine school needs, while federal policy should support qualified teachers and resources such as computers and other teaching aids; his recent district activity also highlights workforce training, community-college preparation, and STEAM education grants in Alabama's 4th District.
Aderholt supports continued U.S. investment in advanced technology for national security, including artificial intelligence and autonomy, alongside stronger cyber defenses, space capabilities, and military modernization. His campaign also supports expanding rural broadband and describes North Alabama’s aerospace and defense industries as central to American innovation and competitiveness.
Aderholt supports stricter federal election-integrity requirements. He voted for the SAVE America Act (H.R. 7296) and said he supports requiring proof of U.S. citizenship for federal voter registration and government-issued photo identification for voting; the related bill text also includes additional measures concerning voter-list maintenance, paper ballots, mail voting, and post-election audits.
Aderholt emphasizes North Alabama economic development and local infrastructure, including support for aerospace, defense, agriculture, manufacturing, attracting companies to the region, technical education, and needed infrastructure projects. He also identifies rural broadband expansion as a priority, saying he has worked with providers and supported ReConnect funding to extend high-speed internet to homes and small businesses in Alabama's 4th District.
Aderholt says healthcare should be reliable and affordable, supports access to care through private-sector options, and opposes the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). His current campaign materials also support federal health-coverage restrictions on abortion. More recently, he praised a $144 million Rural Health Transformation Program investment for Alabama, emphasizing expanded rural access, telehealth, mental-health and maternal care, modernized infrastructure, and workforce development.
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Background
Career History
U.S. Representative1997 – Present
United States House of Representatives
Representing Alabama's 4th Congressional District; member of House Appropriations Committee; Chairman of Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, and Education
Assistant Legal Advisor1995 – 1996
Office of Alabama Governor Fob James
Served as legal advisor to the governor
Municipal Judge1992 – 1995
City of Haleyville, Alabama
Served as municipal judge for Haleyville
Private Attorney1990 – 1992
Private legal practice
Practiced as a private attorney for two years before his appointment as municipal judge.
Education
Birmingham-Southern CollegeBachelor of Arts in History and Political Science (1987)
Cumberland School of Law, Samford UniversityJuris Doctor in Law (1990)
Top Donors
Raised approximately $1.02M in the 2025-2026 cycle (through June 30, 2026), with roughly half from individual donors ($524K) and half from PACs/committee contributions ($422K), and reported about $750K cash on hand. As chairman of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee and a member of the Agriculture and Defense subcommittees, his donor base skews toward agriculture, defense, and financial-services industries (e.g., National Association of Home Builders, American Bankers Association, Monsanto).
Incumbent Republican who has served Alabama's 4th District since 1997 and votes reliably with the Republican majority. He voted against the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act (H.R. 7024, Jan. 2024) and for the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act. As chairman of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee and a member of the Agriculture and Defense subcommittees, he is the primary sponsor of the annual Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bills.