MOBILE — Mobile County Commissioner Jerry Carl has a new title: Congressman-elect.
The Republican nominee in Alabama’s First Congressional District was leading 67 to 31 over Democrat James Averhart when the race was called by the New York Times at around 10:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday night. Carl declared victory shortly after learning of the Times’ projection.
Alabama’s newest congressman from the Gulf Coast took in the results at Old Majestic Brewing in downtown Mobile, which was packed with his supporters.
“This has been a long road, we’re excited about what we are going to able to do in D.C.,” said Carl when his victory first appeared imminent.
“It is done, we won it,” he asserted shortly after the race was called.
Alabama’s First Congressional District is dominated by Mobile and Baldwin Counties, but also includes Washington, Clarke, Escambia and part of Clarke County to the north. The district was vacated by Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope), who mounted an ultimately unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate.
RELATED: ‘Senator Coach’: Tommy Tuberville routs Doug Jones in Alabama
The journey to victory was not short for Carl. He had to overcome two well-known opponents and over a million dollars from Washington, D.C.-based interest groups spent opposing him during the primary.
The general election was never as competitive as the primary in AL-01. Averhart, a military veteran and community organizer, never raised much money, and Carl cruised to victory as expected.
In his speech, Carl gave profuse thanks to his campaign manager Zach Weidlich.
“This young man has been a rockstar. He ran my whole campaign,” the congressman-elect remarked.
Emotion crept into Carl’s voice when he spoke about his reason for getting into politics, which he said was when his son began to serve a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
“We’ve got a veterans community here in South Alabama that I am so proud of. I am so excited to be able to work for them,” Carl remarked.
Projects Carl said he would work to achieve in Washington were a new bridge over the bay and increased investment from Airbus.
Carl said he had spoken with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) multiple times in the last week, and looked forward to serving in the Republican caucus when his term begins in January.
Though he won as a Republican, Carl was not partisan in his remarks on Tuesday.
“We’ve got to move forward as Americans,” he urged.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.