Show Us the Money

Jerry Carl is making another run for Alabama's 1st Congressional District, and his congressional campaign finance records show he has raised $757,032 so far in the 2026 election cycle. Carl, a Republican, lost the seat in 2022 and is now running as a non-incumbent. Individual donors contributed $483,437 of his total. He ended the most recent reporting period with $269,588 in cash on hand and carries $254,536 in outstanding debt from prior campaigns.

Carl's FEC campaign finance report shows $191,559 coming from political action committees and other political committees. His campaign has spent $556,735 so far this cycle. He received no loans and made no candidate contributions to his own campaign in the current period.

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PAC and Organizational Contributors

PACs account for roughly 25% of Carl's 2026 fundraising, a sharp drop from his time as a sitting congressman. When Carl held the seat, PACs contributed $499,500 in the 2022 cycle and $634,500 in 2024. No party committee money has come in during the current cycle. Outside spending disclosure records show no independent expenditures for or against Carl have been filed with the FEC this cycle.

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State Comparison

Among all federal candidates running in Alabama in 2026, Carl ranks outside the top ten by total receipts. The three biggest fundraisers in the state are:

1. Barry Moore (R, District 1), $2,980,325
2. Rodney Walker (R, Senate), $2,012,949
3. Michael Rogers (R, District 3), $1,846,490

Carl's $757,032 represents less than 1% of Alabama's total 2026 federal candidate fundraising, which stands at roughly $163.5 million. Rogers and Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell (District 7) hold the largest cash-on-hand reserves in the state, $2.5 million and $3.6 million, respectively, reflecting the advantage of multiple prior fundraising cycles as incumbents.

Republican candidates dominate Alabama's 2026 congressional campaign finance landscape. The 22 GOP candidates in the state have raised a combined $20.7 million, compared to $3.4 million raised by the 15 Democratic candidates.

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Incumbents vs. Challengers

Incumbents are broadly outpacing challengers and open-seat candidates in Alabama's 2026 cycle. Carl's own fundraising history illustrates the pattern clearly. In his two cycles as a sitting congressman, he pulled in $1.3 million in 2022 and $2.2 million in 2024, with PACs contributing far more than they have in his current comeback bid. Running without the incumbent label, Carl is competing in a crowded field that includes other well-funded open-seat candidates such as Rhett Marques (R, District 2), who has raised $1.1 million as a non-incumbent.

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*Source: Federal Election Commission (FEC), data current as of April 29, 2026.*

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