The Political Beat: District 12 Republican candidate Jack Codiga discusses values, looks ahead

CHARLOTTE — The race for the 12th congressional district includes the heart of the Queen City —and the candidates are set.

Republican candidate Jack Codiga beat Addul Ali in the primary and now faces incumbent Alma Adams in November.

Codiga sat down with The Political Beat’s Joe Bruno. You can find the full interview below.

Joe Bruno: What made you want to run for this seat?

Jack Codiga: Joe, I wanted to run because there’s a calling on my heart from God. I believe that the experience that I’ve had working in finance gave me an understanding of the problems we’re facing, and that America is at a crossroads.

We’re gonna hit $40 trillion in debt today, and last year, that average age for a first-time home buyer was 40 years old. So those are 40 numbers that are not fun, and it really shows where our country’s at, and we’re at this precarious time where it’s important that we unify on what will make America free and prosperous.

JB: We’re talking a little bit about Charlie Kirk as well. Did that moment, the assassination of Mr. Kirk, have, like, a deep impact on you and inspire you to get into the arena?

JC: Yes, I didn’t follow Charlie Kirk too much, but the idea that someone who is nonviolent, having views that where him and I are generally pretty aligned, and I’m not talking about the person that killed him, or maybe a small, very small segment of population that says that’s okay, but it feels like with a lot of people before they say, ‘Hey, it’s bad that he died,’ they say, ‘Well, I don’t agree with everything he says’. And you know, it’s okay to not agree with everything that people say

To me having the preface saying, ‘Well, it’s bad that he got killed,’ shows that, generally speaking, we’re not in a culture where people speak freely, and it just felt like a good time to jump in and run a campaign where I’m saying, ‘Hey, this is what I believe, and here’s my platform, and if I have the honor to represent District 12, I’ll be a deal maker to get this platform done.’

JB: Was it hard to jump in and just run because you’ve never run for office before? You’re a younger guy. So like, you know, we typically don’t see a lot of younger people run for office. You’re running for Congress, and you won. So, was it difficult? Like, was it hard for you to do this?

JC: You don’t know it. You don’t know. But yes, I would say yes, it is. It is still somewhat surreal. But every day I’m getting... It’s my normal. It is something that is important for citizens to be engaged. And for me, I felt this pulling to do it in this manner. When Ronald Reagan first ran, he said it’s like stepping off a cliff, you know, like there are things you can do to prepare for it. But once you do it, you’re public. Once you do it, people look for you on your opinions, your positions, and once you do it, there’s no going back.

JB: So tell me a little bit about your platform. What are some of the key principles of your campaign?

JC: My campaign is based off two truths from my Christian faith: that even people who are not Christians know that all people have value, and by our very nature, all people are self-interested. What that means is that how we govern really, really does matter. And so for me, working in finance, working at a bank for two years, and working in commercial real estate for the last five years, I’ve had the opportunity to understand how our economy works, how money works. And to me, we do not have a system that allows people to get ahead.

Two is free markets. It’s, how do we have government have its right role in being the referee rather than controlling markets? It’s really important when we talk about big issues, whether it be housing, we don’t jump to tax, tax credits, subsidies, rent control. We talk about how do we get down to and fix our root causes? Three, just saying America first policies, I guess, probably a better way to put that is Americans first, whether it’s talking about the election system. I know there’s a lot of talk about the SAVE Act, but policies that ensure that you have citizens that are voting, policies that ensure that we have an immigration system that benefits the country, those are kind of the key implications, or some key implications, of my guiding principles.

JB: And while you’ve been campaigning, you wrote this book, A Citizen’s Guide to a Free Society. Tell me a little bit about what you put in here and what lessons you hope that people take away from it

JC: Really those three things I talked about, and just the idea of that we should want a country, we should want a government that treats people equally under law. And I’m talking about my guiding principles that I just did, that all people have inherent value. And two, we’re all flawed by our very nature. And just talking about what we should want just that commonality we should have as Americans to ensure that the future is bright. I do hit on belief. I think it’s really important for people to examine their belief and have conversations, and I hope that this book encourages people to be more open with what they believe and discuss it more freely.

JB: So it is you versus Alma Adams. What is your assessment of her leadership? She’s been in office for a long time here in Charlotte.

JC: I think Alma Adams speaks to a lot of the issues that people in district 12 have, the idea that life is getting more unaffordable, the idea that buying a house that used to be no big deal, that exact same house is unaffordable by most people. 51% of Charlotteans are housing burdened. It’s a real issue, and it’s not just housing; it’s groceries, it’s life. And so she speaks to that problem. The issue with her solutions is that instead of fixing the root problems, she’s throwing money at it. She’s subsidizing it. And you can’t central plan prosperity, or at least in a way that’s free. So for me, I’m coming in and saying, ‘Hi, I’m Jack Codiga. I’m here to fix these problems.’

JB: What is your campaign going to look like? It includes pretty much all of Charlotte. So how will you connect with voters? A lot of them might be Democrats.

JC: I think that’s what the message I just said talking about, ‘Hey, I’m here to fix your problems,’ and it’s not a way of, ‘Hey, let’s meet in the middle.’ But let’s talk about, let’s reimagine what the economy should look like. Let’s reimagine, let’s talk about why people should be able to afford housing, and the fact that we can actually show that we’re in a worse economic spot than people like to admit. So I’m going to speak to those problems at a root level, problems that people feel and hope my solutions resonate with them. I’m sure they will.

JB: What is your message to democratic and unaffiliated voters on why they should select you over Representative Adams in November?

JC: Her type of solutions are the type of solutions that we have seen govern us. We have seen the government grow. We have seen welfare increase, and what we’ve seen is people are in despair, and what she’s offering is dependence, whereas I’m saying, I’m going to come in, I’m going to fix problems, I’m going to get down to the root of it, and from that will come freedom and prosperity, the things that she also speaks to. But what I’m saying is, my solutions are rooted in reality, whereas her solutions are false hope.

>> You also watch the full conversation with Codiga in the video at the top of the page.

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