MOBILE — Mobile County Commissioner Jerry Carl and former State Senator Bill Hightower (R-Mobile) will face each other in a runoff election on March 31 to decide who will be the Republican nominee in Alabama’s First Congressional District.
Both campaigns significantly outpaced State Rep. Chris Pringle (R-Mobile), who finished over 18 percentage points behind the two leaders. Restauranteur Wes Lambert finished a distant fourth.
According to unofficial results on the Secretary of State’s website, Hightower captured 37.47% of the electorate by winning the support of 37,133 voters. Carl got 38.71% of the vote from 38,359 voters.
More simply, Carl edged out Hightower by 1,226 votes.
Notably, in Baldwin County, Hightower beat Carl by 9 percentage points, which equaled 3,126 votes. Baldwin is the vote-rich county on the eastern side of Mobile Bay, where neither candidate has their roots. The AL-01 House race came as Baldwin County resident, Congressman Bradley Byrne, was running in the U.S. Senate primary. Byrne will not be in the runoff.
Bill Hightower released a statement Tuesday night after it was clear he would be in the runoff.
“My family and our entire campaign are incredibly grateful for the tremendous support we received this evening. Voters responded to our positive message of defending the unborn, protecting our liberties, and holding career politicians accountable, and they rewarded our campaign with spot in the Republican run-off election,” he said.
Hightower promised, “Our message will not change. We will continue to fight for our Alabama values, and we will stand alongside President Trump and his agenda to Keep America Great.”
Carl also released a statement, saying, “I’m extremely encouraged by tonight’s results – they show that the voters want a conservative with a backbone. They want someone who is Trump-tough. They want someone who delivers and that’s exactly what I’ve done throughout my career.”
He continued, “I’m ready to make my case in the runoff – I’m someone who isn’t afraid to stand with Trump to build the wall, protect our south Alabama values, and be a strong conservative who stands with the President.”
The two men will face each other again at the ballot box on March 31.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.
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