Democratic congresswoman Alma Adams scolded her opponent, Republican Jack Codiga, at a candidate forum on Thursday evening, calling him “disrespectful” after he presented a photo of her and other representatives in Israel and asked for her autograph.
On stage, she told him to “get out of my face” and told him that he “ought to be ashamed.”
It was an unusually sharp exchange in what has otherwise been a low-profile campaign for a U.S. House of Representatives seat in a district that includes most of Charlotte. The race pits Adams, 80, who has represented North Carolina’s 12th congressional district since 2014, against Codiga, a 29-year-old political newcomer and unconventional Republican who has called for President Donald Trump’s impeachment and broken with his party on other issues. The district voted Democratic for president in 2024 by a nearly 3-to-1 margin.
On Thursday, the forum including the two candidates — which was held at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in west Charlotte and organized by the church’s Social Justice Ministry — had gone smoothly until their closing remarks. Codiga walked to the edge of the stage and was handed a large photo of Adams and other members of Congress meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in September 2023.
Codiga spoke about Adams’ vote in favor of a 2024 aid package that included $26B to Israel, and another vote this summer opposing an amendment to a bill that would have cut $3.3B in funding to Israel. (In a statement, Adams said she opposed the amendment because it would have eliminated funding for humanitarian aid programs.)
“This is an example of Congresswoman Adams saying one thing but her actions are doing something else for a foreign country. So for this act, I’m nominating her for an Oscar, and I have one question,” said Codiga, who then turned to the congresswoman. “Last time you saw this, you said, ‘Do you want an autograph?’ I did not have a pen. I have a pen now, will you please sign it?”
“You need to be glad I’m in a church,” Adams responded. “... Get out of my face.”
Adams told the audience she went to Israel four times with colleagues from both parties “to learn about what I needed to know” as a member of Congress. She said Codiga was “full of it” and “ought to be ashamed of himself coming up in here and trying to humiliate this community.”
“What I have done is provide support for this community. You haven’t done anything,” she told Codiga.
At her request, someone from the forum took away Codiga’s microphone, as his time was up.
Codiga told The Election Hub that “the last time” he was referring to was a Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg event on Sept. 20.
“As I was leaving at the end of the event, she asked to see the poster, asked if I wanted an autograph, and told me to be more respectful,” he said.
Adams Defends Her Response
In a statement to The Election Hub, Adams said, “My opponent’s repeated bullying and aggressively disrespectful behavior is not what North Carolina’s 12th District deserves. I will not be distracted by personal attacks. My focus remains on serving the district effectively and professionally and addressing what matters most to our community: affordability, health care, and making ends meet.”
Before the exchange, Adams and Codiga answered questions on a variety of topics including the conflict with Iran and education.
During her time in office, Adams has secured federal funding for HBCUs, advocated for Black maternal health and founded a hunger initiative to address food insecurity in her district, among other actions. All of this has earned her a loyal following in the heavily Democratic 12th congressional district.
In October 2023, Adams was the sole representative of North Carolina to co-sponsor a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. The following month, she signed a letter calling for Temporary Protected Status of Palestinians in the U.S. As Americans’ opposition to Israel has intensified over the past few years (particularly since Oct. 7, 2023), Adams has faced some backlash over some of her other votes and for accepting donations from pro-Israel organizations.
In today’s political landscape, Codiga, who works in the mortgage lending industry, is an outlier in the Republican Party on several key issues. His campaign slogan is “I hate politics.” He doesn’t embrace the war in Iran. He doesn’t support sending foreign aid to Israel and believes “AIPAC and other domestic groups advocating for foreign-aligned policies must register as foreign agents,” according to his website. He is opposed to gerrymandering.
He also attended Trump’s rally in Gastonia last month to film a campaign video — in which he called for the president’s impeachment and referred to Trump as “the swamp master” who profits from meme coins. He sarcastically thanked Trump for a variety of actions, including the war in Iran.
After a clash with the Mecklenburg County GOP, Codiga posted a YouTube video asserting that he was un-invited from a Young Republicans event after the county GOP determined he was not aligned with their platform closely enough. He called for the resignations of county GOP leadership.
“I’m not running to toe the party line,” he told the crowd at Thursday evening’s forum.
The election is Nov. 3. Early voting starts Oct. 15.
Rachel Black is a reporter and writer for The Election Hub. Reach her at rachel@theelectionhub.org.
For information on this and other races on the ballot in Mecklenburg, Gaston and Cabarrus counties and beyond, check out The Election Hub. It is a project of the Civic Knowledge Initiative, a nonpartisan nonprofit based in Charlotte that makes it easy for every citizen to find, understand and act on reliable information about their local government and elected officials.
Read more about the U.S. House of Representatives (NC-12) race, Alma Adams and Jack Codiga.