U.S. Rep. Barry Moore has a “BIG” announcement set for August 14. If this is what reports have been indicating for months now – it’s expected to be U.S. Senate caliber big.
It’s unlikely Moore would host an event across the state from his Enterprise district-hometown to do anything other than announce a campaign that’s bigger than the federal office he now holds.
Still about a month away from that date, it’s prime time to take stock of one question: Who might run for his seat?
Jerry Carl
Carl seems ready to roll again in 2026, insiders say. His fundraising operation and name ID are preparing to be repurposed less than two years after a narrow loss to his former freshman House GOP colleague in 2024.
Carl is reportedly confident that his base hasn’t gone anywhere, and the lessons he learned in the new parts of the district are expected to be essential to his ground game this time around. After raising more than double his opponent in 2024, with $2.2 million in total, his financial infrastructure reportedly remains in place as well.
While Carl doesn’t seem at all likely to announce a bid before Moore announces his – he actually already did the paperwork.
Rhett Marques
State Rep. Rhett Marques (R-Enterprise) not only represents the profile of a rising GOP star who has positioned himself to fill Moore’s shoes – it’s rumoured that he’s interested in it. And it wouldn’t be the first time he’s done so. When Moore first ran for Congress in 2018, Marques ran for and won the seat he held in the Alabama House.
His tire and automotive shop is a staple small business in Coffee County. He has strong ties across Geneva and Dale counties. But he’s also a native of Spanish Fort in Baldwin County. All of these areas are now entirely within the boundaries of the newly-drawn 1st Congressional District.
We hear that regional dynamism is being taken into account, but remains just a rumor for now.
Heather Moore
Speaking of that event Barry Moore is hosting across the state, Sylvania happens to be his wife Heather Moore’s hometown.
It is well-established Heather is not only Barry’s wife, she’s also his closest political advisor and #1 campaign surrogate. That co-authorship of her husband’s political brand – going back to their days at the Alabama State House – is what we are hearing to expect more of.
“I was on the road for weeks and weeks over in the other side of the district – Escambia, Baldwin, and Mobile Counties – where we were lesser known,” Mrs. Moore told Yellowhammer News earlier this year.
If her husband started covering more ground in a statewide campaign, it would be a force multiplier if she held down the fort across their South Alabama congressional district while he made new friends across the state.
After all, it’s hard to beat an incumbent’s name on the ballot.
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
