MOBILE — Mobile County Commissioner Jerry Carl defeated former State Senator Bill Hightower (R-Mobile) on Tuesday night to clinch the Republican nomination in Alabama’s First Congressional District.
The district, which occupies all of Alabama’s coastal southwest corner, was decided by Carl’s large margin in Mobile County, where he bested Hightower by around 5,000 votes. The two men virtually tied in all other counties in the district, including vote-rich Baldwin County,
Carl received a string of endorsements late, most notably from outgoing U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope), that helped him get over the finish line in what turned out to be Alabama’s closest runoff election.
“It was a huge endorsement,” said Brad Shattuck, a top consultant on Carl’s campaign.
“With all the negative ads, Bradley was able to cut through the clutter and be a voice of reason for the voters,” Shattuck added.
Hightower called Carl just after 9:30 p.m. to concede the race.
In his remarks at the victory party, Carl said he and his former opponent had shared a pleasant conversation and would be meeting again.
The election comes as a defeat for the powerful group Club for Growth, which spent well over $1 million with the goal of getting Hightower elected.
Tuesday night overall was a big win for Club, however, as their chosen candidate in AL-02 and for the U.S. Senate in Alabama, Barry Moore and Tommy Tuberville respectively, both won.
Carl was backed by the Alabama Farmer’s Federation and several other business groups in Alabama.
The newly crowned nominee was greeted with cheers from supporters at his watch party.
Jerry Carl arrives to big applause, cheers. pic.twitter.com/BCpwowRN9M
— Henry Thornton (@HenryThornton95) July 15, 2020
James Averhart, a marine veteran and community leader in Mobile won the Democratic primary runoff in AL-01 Tuesday night.
AL-01 is heavily Republican and has not elected a Democrat to Congress in recent decades.
Carl and Averhart will face each other at the ballot box on November 3.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95
