Orange Beach, Ala. — (OBA) —  Former U.S. Representative Jerry Carl won the Republican special primary in Alabama's 1st Congressional District. Carl, a Mobile Republican, defeated three other candidates to secure the party's nomination. The district includes Mobile, Baldwin, Escambia and most of Covington counties. 

Carl will now face Democratic nominee Clyde Jones Jr., a pastor from Daphne, in the November 3 general election.

The special primary was held on August 11, 2026, after Gov. Kay Ivey called the election following a U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing Alabama to revert to its 2023 congressional map. That map had been blocked by federal courts due to racial gerrymandering concerns. The court-ordered map used in 2024 created two majority-Black districts, a first in Alabama history.

With 64 of 65 precincts reporting, Carl received 8,603 votes, or 67.32 percent of the total ballots cast. Austin Sidwell of Fairhope finished second with 3,206 votes, or 25.09 percent. John Mills of Newton received 750 votes, and Lucas Burger of Gulf Shores received 220 votes.

Voter turnout was low, with only 12,791 ballots cast out of 212,022 registered voters — a 6.03 percent turnout rate. All ballots cast were for Republican candidates. Prior to the election, candidates had warned that low turnout was a concern, with some projecting as little as 5 percent participation.

Carl celebrated his win at a victory party at Moe's Bar-B-Que in Daphne. He thanked his supporters and pledged to bring South Alabama values to Washington. "We need leaders," Carl said. "I plan to get back up there and do the same thing."

Carl previously served in the U.S. House from 2021 to 2025, before losing the Republican nomination in 2024 to then-Rep. Barry Moore. Moore has since run for the U.S. Senate. Carl's comeback bid was backed by endorsements from U.S. Sen. Katie Britt and President Donald Trump.

The Cook Political Report rates the 1st Congressional District as a Republican-leaning seat, with an estimated GOP advantage of about 17 percentage points heading into November.