CQ Voting Studies are an annual analysis of a member's support or opposition to a given position. Interest Group Ratings are based on rankings from groups chosen to represent liberal, conservative, business and labor viewpoints.Voting Participation scores are based on the number of times a member voted "yea" or "nay" on roll call votes (not including quorum calls in the House). CQ Vote Studies Year Presidential Support Party Unity   S* O* S O 1998 21% 79% 90% 9% 1997 24 76 97 3 S=Support; O=Oppose
Voting Participation Year % 1998 99 1997 99	Interest Groups Year ADA AFL-CIO CCUS ACU 1998 10% n/a 83% 96 % 1997 0 0 80 96
Note on Interest Groups: ADA=Americans for Democratic Action; AFL-CIO=American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations; CCUS=Chamber of Commerce of the United States; ACU=American Conservative Union

ALABAMA 4 : North Central - Gadsden

Encompassing mountains, foothills, flatlands and large waterways, the 4th borders Georgia and Mississippi. A small black population and a high percentage of unionized workers separate it from the rest of the state, but the middle-class inclination that seems to define the state pervades the district as well.

Weakened in part by textile companies moving overseas, the 4th is one of the poorest districts in the state, second only to the majority-black 7th. Coal mining has declined for years. An abundance of relatively new chicken farms provides relief, but the district is still ailing. In Gadsden, the district's only sizable city, rubber and steel plants have been forced to make layoffs because of national strikes and foreign competition. In anticipation of more cutbacks, the area is pushing to attract new, moderate-sized businesses and to work with nearby Birmingham's medical facilities. Large mobile home manufacturing plants fuel Marshall County's economy, and Cullman County profits from an agricultural industry that includes everything from cotton and soybeans to hogs and cattle.

Most of the 4th's population is blue collar and socially conservative, especially on gun control. Although the district originally adhered to Democratic populism, the 4th has voted Republican on recent presidential ballots. In 1996, voters elected a Republican to Congress for just the second time since Reconstruction.

Major Industry
Chicken farming, timber, manufacturing

Population
577,058 (1990)

Cities
Gadsden, 41,155; Cullman, 18,195; Albertville, 16,508 (1997)

People
66% rural; 15% age 65+ (ranks first of seven in state; top third nationally); 65% married couples, 29% married couples with children; 8% college educated (ranks seventh of seven in state; bottom third nationally); 40% white collar (ranks seventh of seven in state; bottom third nationally), 47% blue collar (ranks first of seven in state; top third nationally) (1990)

Race
92% white, 7% black, 0% Asian; 0% Hispanic origin (1990)

Median Household Income
$20,877 (ranks sixth of seven in state; bottom third nationally) (1990)

Unusual Features
Country music group Alabama from Ft. Payne; Former Gov. James Folsom Sr. grew up in Cullman County; Winston County briefly became the "free state of Winston" when Alabama seceded from the union.

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