MOBILE, Ala.—Rep. Barry Moore (R-Ala.) will likely secure another two years in Washington after beating Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Ala.) in a competitive primary contest in southern Alabama in a newly redrawn congressional district.
Mr. Moore, who currently represents the Yellowhammer State’s Second Congressional District, won the Republican Party’s statewide primary on the evening of March 5. The Associated Press called the race late in the evening after reviewing enough voting data to make its conclusion.
According to unofficial results published by the Alabama secretary of state early on March 6, Mr. Moore won with 51.75 percent of the vote to Mr. Carl’s 48.25 percent.
Mr. Moore was not in Alabama for his win. He returned to Washington on March 5 to rejoin the House when it resumed. Mr. Moore’s victory was an upset since the latest polling in southern Alabama showed he trailed in the race during its final days.
In an interview with The Epoch Times, Mr. Moore said he was thrilled, relieved, and “glad it’s over.”
“I’m so proud of our people and our team,” Mr. Moore told The Epoch Times. “The people showed up to help us get through this.”
Around 11 p.m. Central Standard Time, Mr. Carl appeared before gathered supporters at the TimberCreek Golf Club in Daphne, Alabama, and conceded the race. He said he lost the primary contest by about 3,000 votes.
“We’ve given it a good run,” Mr. Carl said. “I’m excited for what God has for me: a whole new chapter.”
For now, Mr. Moore said he plans on slowing things down and getting life “back to normal” for himself, his family, and his staff.
“We’re going to relax a little bit the next couple of weeks, celebrate, and then from there, we'll start planning the next step: To serve in the upcoming session and the new district.”
With the primary victory, Mr. Moore should go on to win the general election in a newly redrawn First District in November. His Democratic Party opponent, Tom Holmes, is unlikely to win the deeply conservative district.
After a Supreme Court decision forced its hand, Alabama redrew its congressional district map in October 2023. The decision was made to grant black Alabamans a better opportunity to elect candidates and represent the state on Capitol Hill.
The First District, previously centered on Mobile Bay and the surrounding counties, was expanded to cover all of the state’s southernmost counties from the Mississippi to Georgia borders. The Second District, which covered much of the southeastern part of Alabama and part of the Montgomery, Alabama, metro area, now sits directly to the north of the First District and covers the so-called Black Belt of Alabama as well as Montgomery County.
According to unofficial results published by the Alabama Secretary of State on March 6, Mr. Carl won the three western counties in the district: Mobile, Baldwin, and Escambia. Mr. Moore won the rest of the counties: Covington, Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry, and Houston.
Mr. Moore told The Epoch Times the support in the eastern counties, where he beat Mr. Carl decisively, was essential to his overall victory. Moreover, he said voters across southern Alabama appreciated his record in Congress and liked his message.
Mobile County, one of the state’s most populous areas, was split between the First and Second Districts, with much of Mobile, Alabama, apportioned to the Second District.
In an interview, Wiley Blankenship, the executive director of Mobile-area business association Coastal 150, said he believed losing his Mobile base likely cost Mr. Carl reelection. Coastal 150 endorsed Mr. Carl.
“We hope that (Mr. Moore) looks at things differently and will actually think of his constituents and help them,” Mr. Blankenship told The Epoch Times.
With Mr. Moore’s Super Tuesday triumph, Mr. Carl’s time in Congress is over for now.
In the Second District, no clear winner emerged on March 5 due to the large number of candidates competing to represent the Republican Party and the Democratic Party in the November contest. Out of the 11 running for the Democrats and eight running for the Republicans, the two candidates who received the highest percentage of the vote for both parties will compete directly in a run-off election that should be set for April 16.
On March 5 and March 6, the Associated Press declared it had enough data to say the top two candidates in each party were clear. In April, Shomari Figures and Anthony Daniels will compete to represent the Democratic Party in the November election, while Dick Brewbaker and Caroleene Dobson will do the same for the Republican Party.
