1st Congressional District: Carl, Jones Make Closing Pitches in Alabama’s Only Open House Race

MOBILE, Ala. — With less than two weeks left before Election Day, the two candidates for Alabama’s 1st Congressional District are making their final pitches to South Alabama voters, with Republican Jerry Carl leaning on his experience in Washington and Democrat Clyde Jones arguing that the district needs a change. The 1st District race is the only open U.S. House contest in Alabama this year, meaning voters on Nov. 3 will send either a former congressman or a first-time candidate to Capitol Hill.

Carl, a Mobile businessman, represented the district from 2021 to 2025. Jones is a military veteran who moved to South Alabama to work for DuPont and is now retired. Both say the cost of living is a top concern for families in the district, but they differ on what Congress should do about it and on which other issues deserve priority.

A district redrawn again

The race is taking place in a district that looks different than it did two years ago. The previous version of the 1st District included all of Baldwin County, part of Mobile County and a portion of the Wiregrass in southeast Alabama. It was redrawn earlier this year during a special session of the Alabama Legislature.

The district now includes Mobile, Baldwin and Escambia counties and a large part of Covington County. That takes in the Port of Mobile, the fast-growing Eastern Shore and Gulf beaches of Baldwin County, and timber and farm country farther inland. Nonpartisan election analysts rate the new district as R+17, meaning it leans solidly Republican.

The changes followed a long-running legal fight over Alabama’s congressional map. After the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings this year in the Allen v. Milligan litigation allowed the state to return to lines approved by the Legislature in 2023, the city of Mobile was drawn back into the 1st District with the rest of the Mobile Bay region. Mobile had been part of the 2nd District, now represented by Democrat Shomari Figures, under the court-ordered map used in 2024.

Why each candidate is running

Carl, the Republican nominee, said his decision to seek the seat again came from his previous experience in Congress.

“I like the pace of Washington, I enjoy the challenges of Washington. I think I did a great job, and I think I will continue to do a great job,” Carl said. “I’ll work with the president. I’ll work with leadership in the Senate and in Congress, and I don’t think you’re going to find anybody else down in this system than that.”

Carl lost his seat in 2024 after the district was reconfigured to include Wiregrass counties, which put him in a Republican primary against fellow U.S. Rep. Barry Moore. This year, Carl won the Republican nomination in a special primary.

Jones, the Democratic nominee, said in an interview Wednesday, Oct. 21, that he “felt like we need a change.”

“We needed representation, someone who wanted to represent everyone — not one particular party, but everyone that’s in congressional district one,” he said.

Jones is making his first run for the U.S. House. According to his campaign, he spent 21 years in the Army Signal Corps, served during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom II, and received the Bronze Star Medal. He moved to South Alabama in 2013 to work for DuPont and later retired from FMC Corporation in May 2024, where he worked as a process safety management coordinator. He is also an associate minister at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church.

Carl’s campaign, for its part, highlights his years on the Mobile County Commission from 2012 through 2020 and more than four decades in private business, including companies he started in real estate, health care, timber and manufacturing. He has described that combination of government and business experience as his main qualification for returning to Congress.

Affordability tops both lists

Both candidates said the rising cost of living is weighing on residents across the district.

Carl said he wants to focus on affordability and on improving the business climate in Mobile and Baldwin counties.

“The cost of living is outrageous. We’re all experiencing the pressure from that,” Carl said. “Diesel fuel and gas prices, you know, are a little different. We’re having to pay more for that, which is hurting all of us.”

Carl did not say specifically how he would address affordability. His campaign ties his support for a constitutional balanced budget amendment and for cuts in federal spending to efforts to bring down inflation. A message seeking further comment was left with Carl on Wednesday.

Jones also named affordability as a priority, along with accountability and access to health care. He wants Congress to restore federal funding for the Affordable Care Act subsidies that helped lower premiums for many people who buy coverage through the federal marketplace.

“The supplements that were taken away for the ACA (Affordable Care Act) caused premiums to go up. This year alone, 95,000 people have lost healthcare in Alabama because they can’t afford their premium. So, if we can get those back into the budget and get those supplements back out to people to help cover their healthcare costs, it will be something that can be done pretty much right away,” Jones said.

The enhanced premium tax credits for ACA marketplace coverage expired at the end of last year, and enrollment in Alabama dropped by about 23%, or roughly 95,000 people. The enhanced credits, first expanded in 2021 and later extended, had lowered monthly premiums for many middle- and lower-income households who buy their own insurance. Whether to revive them has been a point of disagreement in Congress, with supporters pointing to their effect on coverage and critics pointing to their cost to the federal government.

Redistricting confusion on the campaign trail

Both candidates said the repeated changes to the district have shaped their campaigns.

Jones said many voters in the city of Mobile did not realize their congressional district had changed.

“A lot of people in the city of Mobile, they just didn’t understand what happened, or they didn’t know about what happened,” Jones said. “So, I would always have to start my speeches into groups in Mobile with ‘I am not running against Congressman (Shomari) Figures,’ which again adds another level of confusion, but also gives an opportunity to educate people on the actual change.”

Carl said redistricting has played a role in his campaign but that his focus has turned to getting Republican voters to the polls, warning that the district’s Republican lean should not be taken for granted.

“The key is, how many can you get out? Can you get out more Republicans than you can Democrats? And that’s a fear that we all have,” Carl said. “If they (Republicans) take that same comfort level in this race, we could easily lose. So we’re really trying to motivate our Republicans to get out.”

Fundraising and spending

Carl holds a significant financial advantage, according to federal campaign finance records.

• Jerry Carl (R): Raised $277,500 and spent $298,900 through Oct. 1.
• Clyde Jones (D): Raised $97,500 and spent $105,200 through Oct. 1.

Both candidates had spent slightly more than they raised through Oct. 1. Federal candidates file regular reports with the Federal Election Commission, and those reports are available to the public on the commission’s website. Candidates are also required to file a pre-general election report covering activity shortly before the vote, as well as a post-general report after Election Day.

What voters should know

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls across Alabama are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and voters must show an acceptable photo ID.

• Confirm your district: Because congressional lines have changed more than once in recent years, voters should check which district they live in. Registration, polling place and sample ballot information is available through the Alabama Secretary of State’s website or from county boards of registrars.
• Mobile voters: Voters in the city of Mobile who were in the 2nd District in 2024 will see the 1st District race on their ballots this year.
• Absentee voting: Voters who qualify under state law may apply to vote absentee through their county absentee election manager. Deadlines apply.
• Other races: The ballot also includes the race for governor and other statewide and local contests.

The winner will take office in January and serve a two-year term representing one of the fastest-growing regions in Alabama, home to the state’s only deepwater seaport and a coastline that shapes much of the local economy.