On Tuesday, Alabama voters selected the nominees who will compete to represent the state’s 1st, 6th and 7th Congressional Districts in November’s midterm elections.

The August 11 primaries were scheduled after Governor Kay Ivey called a special session of the state Legislature to respond to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which significantly limited claims under the Voting Rights Act. Unlike most Alabama primaries, no runoffs were scheduled following Tuesday’s elections, even if no candidate received a majority of the votes cast in a district.

Before the Supreme Court’s ruling and subsequent unsigned order, Alabama had been required to use a court-drawn map containing two majority-minority districts. Returning to the original maps significantly changed the partisan lean of the 2nd Congressional District, making the district represented by Representative Shomari Figures, D-Alabama, a likely Republican pickup, while producing more modest changes in the other districts.

In the 1st District, former Representative Jerry Carl won the Republican nomination for the seat he previously represented. Facing political newcomers Austin Sidwell, Lucas Burger and John Mills, Carl won 74.7 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results.

Carl represented the district for two terms from 2021 to 2025 but narrowly lost a 2024 primary to Barry Moore after the district was redrawn. This cycle, Carl received endorsements from Senator Katie Britt, R-Alabama, President Donald Trump and more than a dozen mayors in the district.

With Moore vacating the House seat after becoming the Alabama Republican Party’s nominee for U.S. Senate, Carl is heavily favored to reclaim his former seat in November because of the 1st District’s strong Republican lean. Carl won more than 85 percent of the vote in 2022.

He will face Army veteran and former Alabama Arise board President Clyde Jones in the November general election. In a Facebook post Tuesday night, Carl said he was “looking forward to taking the fight to the socialist Democrats this November and serving alongside a fantastic delegation that puts America First.”

Austin Sidwell, a former Air Force major, finished second with 17.6 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results. Federal Election Commission filings show Sidwell largely self-financed his campaign, loaning it $129,000 of the $199,458 in reported total receipts.

In the 6th District, Representative Gary Palmer, R-Alabama, faced a Republican primary challenge from Case Dixon. In press releases and written statements to APR during the campaign, Dixon criticized Palmer for enabling additional federal debt and spending and attacked artificial intelligence data centers.

Palmer easily defeated Dixon on Tuesday, receiving about 87 percent of the votes cast.

Like Carl, Palmer linked Democrats to socialism in his primary night victory message, referring to “the radical socialist agenda of the Democratic Party.” Palmer also said he never takes voters’ support for granted.

The 6th District also featured a competitive Democratic primary. Former Pelham City Council member Maurice Mercer, Ashtyn Kennedy, registered nurse Keith Pilkington and cashier Jacob Bouma Sims sought the nomination.

Mercer won with 64.2 percent of the vote. Kennedy finished second with 21.4 percent, well ahead of Pilkington and Bouma Sims.

In a post thanking 6th District voters, Mercer also thanked his Democratic primary opponents.

“Campaigns may put us on different sides of a ballot,” Mercer wrote. “But our shared commitment to democracy, representation, and making sure the voices of the people of District 6 are heard is bigger than any one candidate.”

Unlike the 1st and 6th Districts, the Republican primary in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District did not include any established politicians. Because of its strong Democratic lean, the 7th District has been represented by Representative Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, since 2011 and was not significantly affected by the post-Louisiana v. Callais redistricting.

Ammie Akin, who emphasized her work in education during the campaign, will challenge Sewell in November. Akin received more than 70 percent of the vote Tuesday, easily defeating Army veteran and pastor David Wayne Perry.