Navy veteran Paul James Blackman seeks Democratic nomination for 4th Congressional District

wlox.com · Feb 15, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - Paul James Blackman, a candidate in the Democratic Primary for the 4th Congressional District, discussed his congressional campaign and policy positions.Blackman, who grew up in Australia, moved to the United States in 2002 and enlisted in the Navy in 2004. He became an American citizen three years later. The retired Navy veteran said his wife encouraged him to run for office.“I’ve always been into politics, and I want to make a difference,” Blackman said.Drawing from his personal experience as an immigrant, Blackman described the immigration process as inconsistent. He said applicants often receive different answers when calling immigration hotlines.“I did everything by the book and legally, and there’s always uncertainty,” Blackman said.He said he would like to see a “clear set of instructions” when it comes to the immigration process.“If you’re straight with people, even if it is a nightmare, even if it is not going the way you want to, people understand that there are rules and people understand the rules,” Blackman said. “I think it would be much easier. It would improve the relationship between the people and their government.”The Democratic candidate would also like to see mandatory retirement savings for American workers. Blackman said he wants to encourage savings to reduce pressure on the Social Security Trust Fund.“A lot of workers, they’re month to month when they’re young, month to month when they have kids, month to month to pay off the mortgage. Then they hit like 60 and 70, and it’s the same old story over again,” Blackman said.The March 10 Democratic Primary also includes Jeffrey Hulum III and D. Ryan Grover.The Republican Primary includes Incumbent Mike Ezell and Sawyer Walters.Independent Carl Boyanton will be on the general election ballot on November 3, along with the winners of the primaries.WLOX News contacted all candidates and invited them to participate in interviews throughout February to discuss their positions and priorities.See a spelling or grammar error in this story? Report it to our team HERE. Copyright 2026 WLOX. All rights reserved.