Rep. Barry Moore defeated fellow GOP Rep. Jerry Carl in the primary in Alabama’s 1st District Tuesday, bringing to a close a contentious member-vs.-member election.
Moore led Carl by more than 3 percentage points when The Associated Press called the race at 11:49 p.m. Eastern time with an estimated 95 percent of the vote counted.
A Republican in his second term, Moore campaigned as a loyal supporter of former President Donald Trump, touting his votes against supplemental funding for Ukraine and his support for a border wall.
Moore and Carl were put into the same district after the Supreme Court ordered the state to redraw its map to give Black voters a second district where they could influence the election of a representative. That sharply changed the makeup of the 2nd District Moore currently represents, including moving his hometown into the 1st District, which Carl currently represents.
The newly-drawn 1st District is one of the nation’s most conservative, meaning the two Republicans were both running to the right. Moore, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, campaigned with Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, a co-founder of the group, earlier this year and with Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former member, during the campaign’s final weekend.
Carl, also in his second term, also ran to the right during the primary, but is considered a more pragmatic member of the party. A member of the House Appropriations Committee, Carl had support from other appropriators including Committee Chair Kay Granger of Texas and Arkansas Rep. Steve Womack.
A former county commissioner and entrepreneur, Carl emphasized the work he did to bring funding back to the southern Alabama region during his time in Congress.
