Alabama’s redrawn congressional map is setting up the first member-on-member US House primary of 2024, with GOP Rep. Barry Moore set to challenge fellow Republican Rep. Jerry Carl in the new 1st District.
Under a new map approved by a federal court earlier this month, Moore’s current 2nd District was redrawn to significantly boost its Black population, making it a possible pick-up opportunity for Democrats. The Republican congressman announced in a statement Monday he had filed to run for Congress to “represent his hometown and the people of Alabama’s First District.”
“Alabama’s First Congressional District is now one of the most conservative in the nation and we deserve an effective representative in Congress who is equally as conservative,” Moore said.
Carl, who represents the current version of the 1st District, responded to reports of Moore’s challenge earlier Monday by saying on X, “Bring it on.”
The new 1st District contains land from the current 1st and 2nd Districts, drawing the two incumbents into some overlapping territory. The new 2nd District was redrawn to have a 48.7% Black voting-age population — the eventual response to a divided US Supreme Court, in a case concerning an earlier map, affirming a lower-court opinion ordering Alabama to include a second majority-Black district or “something quite close to it” to its seven-seat congressional map.
Moore, first elected to the House in 2020, looked to position himself in his announcement Monday as the conservative candidate for the new 1st District, citing his membership in the House Freedom Caucus.
Carl, also first elected in 2020, touted his conservative credentials and willingness to take on President Joe Biden.
“I have a proven track record of putting Alabama first every day and delivering conservative results for Alabama’s First Congressional District. I’m not afraid to fight Biden’s radical, out of touch ideas or whatever else comes my way,” his campaign said in a statement.
CNN’s Fredreka Schouten and Ethan Cohen contributed to this report.
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