State Rep. Jim Carns (R-Vestavia Hills) has been a fixture in Alabama politics since the early ‘90s. But a new Cygnal poll from the heavily-GOP Birmingham suburb seat of Alabama House District 48 shows voters aren’t rushing to sign up for another term in 2026.

In the new poll obtained by Yellowhammer News conducted January 29-31 among 300 likely Alabama Republican Party 2026 primary voters, Carns leads challenger and former federal prosecutor, Lloyd Peeples 23% to 16% — with 59% still undecided. 

According to the poll, just 21% would vote to re-elect Carns, and that he “has generally weak numbers on the re-elect ballot, showing a lane that voters are ready for someone new.”

Carns was first elected to the Alabama House in 1990, served there through 2006, served on the Jefferson County Commission from 2006-2010, and then returned to the House in 2011, where he is now up for his seventh all-time re-election bid in 2026.

He turns 85 this year. Yet the poll shows 54% of likely Republican primary voters in the district still have not formed an opinion of him.

Peeples, age 52, announced his bid in November as a first-time candidate.

A former federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, Peeples began as a prosecutor in the office in 2003 and later served as first assistant U.S. attorney. He also describes himself as “a business owner, a husband, and a dad helping raise two kids.”

HD48 includes areas like Greystone, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, and north Shelby County. The poll’s internal breakdown shows undecideds heavily concentrated in Vestavia Hills. 

The showdown’s fundraising picture is also taking shape, now 99 days from the primary election.

In January, Carns reported having a $203,348.87 cash-on-hand total. Peeples reported $321,066.72.