Escambia County Turnout Hits 4.85% as Jerry Carl Sweeps GOP Primary Boxes
Jerry Carl swept nearly every voting box in Escambia County en route to winning the GOP nomination for Alabama's 1st Congressional District, as turnout across the district reached 5.24 percent.
Former U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl secured the Republican nomination for Alabama’s 1st Congressional District in Tuesday’s primary, and county-level results show he dominated the vote in Escambia County, one of 40 counties in the district. Carl will face Democrat Clyde Jones in November’s general election.
Turnout across the district was 5.24 percent of registered voters, while Escambia County saw a slightly lower turnout of 4.85 percent. Carl won the GOP nomination district-wide with 23,325 votes, defeating Austin Sidwell, John Mills and Luca Burger.
In Escambia County, Carl received 1,291 votes to Sidwell’s 70, Mills’ 66 and Burger’s 16. Carl carried every voting box in the county except Dixie, where Sidwell edged him out with four votes to Carl’s two and Mills’ one. The strongest turnout for Carl came at the Brewton Civic Center, where he received 219 votes to Sidwell’s 11, Mills’ seven and Burger’s six.
Escambia County Circuit Clerk John Robert Fountain said his office sent out 22 absentee ballots, all of which were returned, though one was disqualified, leaving 21 counted.
Tuesday’s primary also decided nominations in two other Alabama congressional races. Rhett Marques won the Republican nomination for the 2nd District and will face incumbent Democrat Shomari Figures in November. In the 6th District, Democrat Maurice Mercer won his party’s nomination and will face Republican Gary Palmer. Ammie Akin also won the GOP nomination for the 7th District seat.
About the nominee
Carl represented Alabama’s 1st Congressional District from 2021 to 2025. After a court-ordered redrawing of the state’s congressional map in 2023 placed him in the same district as fellow Republican Rep. Barry Moore, Carl lost the 2024 Republican primary to Moore.
In Alabama, the circuit clerk generally serves as a county’s absentee election manager, overseeing the mailing, return and counting of absentee ballots, which is why Escambia County’s absentee figures came from Fountain’s office. Brewton is the Escambia County seat.
