Alabama’s coastal communities head to the polls next week to fill the state’s only open congressional seat this year, with three Republicans squaring off in a special primary for the newly redrawn 1st Congressional District.
Former U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl, former Navy pilot John Mills and former Air Force officer Austin Sidwell face each other Aug. 11 for the Republican nomination. The primary winner will face the sole Democrat in the race, Clyde W. Jones Jr., in the general election. The district, which now covers Mobile, Baldwin and Escambia counties and most of Covington County, is solidly Republican; the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Alabama to use its 2023 congressional map for this year’s elections, and Donald Trump would have carried the redrawn district by 36 points in 2024.
Carl, who has picked up endorsements from President Trump and U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, is considered the likely frontrunner. He previously represented the district for two terms before losing his seat to now-U.S. Rep. Barry Moore in a 2024 Republican primary triggered by court-ordered redistricting. Before serving in Congress, Carl was a member of the Mobile County Commission. “I really enjoyed being in Congress,” Carl said. “Now I get a chance to run for it again and get to get back in there and finish things that I haven’t finished.”
The AL-1 race was actually held once before under the district’s old lines, during the May 19 primary, but those results were voided after the Supreme Court restored the 2023 map. Carl led that voided field with 40.29% of the vote, followed by state Rep. Rhett Marques, who has since moved his campaign to the neighboring 2nd Congressional District. Sidwell and Mills finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in that earlier race.
Mills has leaned on his military background to make his case to voters. “In the Navy, dealing with in-flight emergencies to emergency management and the Navy giving me command twice, I know what crisis is,” Mills said. “I know how to manage it, and America is in crisis, and we need to do something before we lose our constitutional republic.”
Sidwell, who lives in Fairhope and serves as vice president of his family’s business after 12 years as a major in the U.S. Air Force, is positioning himself as the outsider in the race. He said he decided to run because he believes elected officials aren’t representing the will of the people. “I have a broad range of experiences and skill sets outside of politics,” Sidwell said. “The other thing is, maybe the most obvious thing, is I’m 36. I’m bringing a different perspective, a perspective of a guy that still has a family in the home, that has a different view of where we’re going. Not necessarily looking at just problems that are facing us right this second, but also the problems facing us in the future.”
I-10 Bridge and Tolls
All three candidates named the $3.2 billion I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project as a top priority, calling it a matter of national security and stressing the need for cooperation across federal, state and local government. The Alabama Department of Transportation has said construction on the bridge itself could begin as soon as October, with tolls expected once the bridge is complete to help fund the second phase, the Bayway project.
Carl said starting construction is a step in the right direction after years of delays, but he wants to find ways to bring the project’s cost down to avoid tolls altogether. “Now we’ve got to figure out how we can either a) save money and get the price down where it’s a little more affordable, or b) figure out how to come up with the money,” he said.
Mills said the funding question for the Bayway phase still needs to be worked out and argued that tolls shouldn’t fall on commuters. “The first phase is laid out. But what about the second phase?” Mills said. “Let’s talk about who pays for it. To put tolls up and putting more on the backs of people trying to commute across to work is not a solution to me.”
Sidwell was the most emphatic of the three in opposing tolls, arguing the project should be fully funded through existing tax revenue. “I think it’s absurd that an interstate that should be funded wholly by the federal government is being forced down not only through the state and local governments, but also to the taxpayers,” Sidwell said. “Taxpayers are paying federal taxes that are going into this, state taxes and local taxes that are all going into this, and then they’re going to have to pay a toll on top of that. I don’t believe in that.”
Data Centers
The candidates also weighed in on data center development, an issue drawing attention in the district as facilities are planned in northern Mobile County and Prichard, according to local media reports.
Sidwell said he opposes data centers built “without transparency” and believes residents should have a say in whether the facilities come to their communities. “We shouldn’t have any level of government forcing things that our communities don’t want,” he said, adding that he sees a federal role in regulating the projects because of their heavy water use and strain on the electrical grid.
Mills said his concern centers on transparency from the companies building the facilities, including who is funding them and what their presence means for surrounding neighborhoods. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t have new technology, but I think it needs to be we, all of us, decide what’s best for us, not just somebody take backroom deals, cronyism, and all of a sudden, there’s a data center being crammed down your throat, and you find out the hard way what it really costs you,” Mills said.
Carl said he has not settled on a position for or against data centers and plans to visit an existing facility in the state before forming an opinion. “I want to go before I make my mind up one way or the other, and I want to see one. I want to hear one,” Carl said. “I want to talk to the people actually running it.” He said he recognizes the need to compete with China on artificial intelligence but also the need to protect communities’ water and electricity supplies.
Turning Out Voters
With the district having already gone through one voided primary in May, all three candidates said turning out voters for the Aug. 11 election has been a central part of their campaigns.
Carl, who has dedicated campaign resources toward voter outreach, acknowledged the challenges of an August election that falls during the start of the school year. “I can give you a half a dozen negative reasons why people aren’t going to come to the polls,” he said. “But when I talk to people, I try to make people understand. To me, voting is something as Americans we should do. And I challenge everybody to vote.”
Mills said many voters he’s talked to during the campaign don’t realize an election is happening at all. “It seems to be a big mystery to them,” he said. “That’s the biggest hurdle to overcome is to make sure they know there is an election and how important it is.”
Sidwell said voters he’s encountered on the trail are looking for change. “One of the overwhelming, positive responses we’ve got on the campaign trail is people are ready for a change,” he said. “They’re ready for someone that’s outside of the establishment, someone that they feel like they can trust, and that’s what we’re offering. We’re offering someone that’s not backed by super PACs and all these connected (venture capital) interests.”
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Aug. 11.