A fourth Republican candidate has thrown his hat into the ring for Congressman Hank Johnson's seat in the fourth congressional district.

Victor Armendariz, 40, a DeKalb native who currently works in publishing sales, said he was moved to run for office after seeing the direction of the country.

"I'm not a politician by any means. I'm not a lawyer. I'm a citizen of this great country that has basically reached a point where I'm looking at things that are going on," he said. "The federal government has become way, way too large. I ‘m a strong believer in the Constitution and I feel we've gotten away from it."

Armendariz said his main issues were the economy and tax system, immigration and protecting the second amendment.

"One of the biggest problems we have is our system of taxation. We have a very progressive taxation system that is not conducive to a freedom system. What our current system does is punish achievement. If you punish an action, you're going to get less of an action. I think we need a complete overhaul in the way we collect revenue for the federal government, which in my opinion, should be the Fair Tax plan."

With immigration, Armendariz, whose father is of Mexican descent, said there needs to be a reform to stem illegal immigration.

"There's no question immigration has played a vital part in the growth of America. But we are a (country with a) rule of law so we need to look at some kind of program, I believe we need to look at a guest worker program. So we can secure the borders, so we know who they are." He added, "It's not fair to people who came over here and are doing it the right way."

Armendariz will be participating in a fourth congressional Republican candidate forum this Saturday with the Rockdale Republican Party. The forum will take place at the Holiday Inn Express on Dogwood Drive starting at 8:30 a.m.

Other Republican candidates participating in the forum for the fourth congressional district, which includes DeKalb, a large portion of Rockdale, and a part of Gwinnett counties, are Liz Carter, Cory Ruth and Larry Gause.

Democratic candidates include former DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones and DeKalb Commissioner Connie Stokes. Incumbent Congressman Hank Johnson has said he would run again.