Jerry Lee Carl Jr. (born June 17, 1958) is an American politician and businessman serving as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for

Alabama's 1st congressional district Alabama's 1st congressional district is a United States congressional district in Alabama, which elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives. It includes the entirety of Washington, Mobile, Baldwin, Escambia and Mon ...

since 2021. The district is based in

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

, and includes all of the state's share of the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...

. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, Carl served as a member of the

Mobile County Mobile County ( ) is located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is the second most-populous county in the state after Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its po ...

Commission from 2012 to 2020, the last two years as president of the commission. In 2019, Carl announced his candidacy for the House seat being vacated by

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

Republican

Bradley Byrne Bradley Roberts Byrne (born February 16, 1955) is an American business attorney and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Alabama's 1st congressional district from 2014 to 2021. Elected as a member of the state Board of Education ...

. He defeated former State Senator

Bill Hightower Bill Hightower (born 1959) is an American politician from the state of Alabama. From 2013 through 2018, he was a Republican member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 35th district. Early life and education Hightower was raised in Mobile, A ...

in a runoff for the Republican nomination and

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

James Averhart in the general election.

Early life and education

A native of

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

, Carl graduated from Sylacauga High School in 1977. He attended Lake City Community College (now

Florida Gateway College Florida Gateway College (FGC), formerly Lake City Community College, is a public college in Lake City, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and one of the institutions in the system designated a "state college", allowing it to offer ...

) for a time, but left to move back to Mobile and start his first business.

Career

After leaving community college, Carl worked for

Alabama Power Alabama Power Company, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is a company in the southern United States that provides electricity service to 1.4 million customers in the southern two-thirds of Alabama. It also operates appliance stores. It is one ...

. He then worked for Burford Equipment Company and as a salesman for various companies in Mobile. In 1989, Carl established Stat Medical, a healthcare equipment business. He later worked as a manager at Rotech Medical before establishing a real estate development firm. Carl founded Carl and Associates, a management group, in 2003. He then started Cricket and Butterfly, LLC, a lumber and timber company. Carl ran for Mobile County Commission in 2012. He defeated incumbent Mike Dean in the Republican primary election in April, and won the general election in November. He was reelected over

Margie Wilcox Julia Margaret Wilcox is an American businessperson and politician from Alabama. Wilcox is a Republican member of Alabama House of Representatives for district 104. Early life Wilcox was born and raised in Theodore, Alabama. In 1980, Wilcox gr ...

in 2016. In 2019, Carl was selected to serve as Commission President.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020

In June 2020, Carl announced he would run for the 1st district, which was being vacated by seven-term incumbent and fellow Republican

. He faced former State Senator

, State Representative Chris Pringle, and two others in the Republican primary. Carl narrowly defeated Hightower in the primary, and they went to a runoff election. Carl defeated Democratic nominee James Averhart in the general election with 64.4% of the vote. The 1st has been in Republican hands without interruption since 1965, and the Democrats have only managed 40% of the vote once since then. The 1st typically gives its incumbents very long tenures in Washington. When Carl took office on January 2, 2021, he became only the seventh person to hold the seat since 1919; all but one of his six predecessors held it for at least 10 years.

2022

Carl was reelected in 2022.

Tenure

117th Congress (2021–present)

One of Carl's first votes upon joining Congress was opposing the

second impeachment of Donald Trump Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, was impeached for the second time on January 13, 2021, one week before his term expired. It was the fourth impeachment of a U.S. president, and the second for Trump after his first imp ...

. He said he voted against impeachment because he believed the

articles Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

"failed to reach the necessary threshold for impeachment." He also called impeachment "Nancy Pelosi's personal vendetta against President Trump." Carl voted against the

American Rescue Plan The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Package or American Rescue Plan, is a economic stimulus bill passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, to s ...

in March 2021, saying the bill was "rushed" too soon after the passing of the

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 () is a $2.3trillion spending bill that combines $900 billion in stimulus relief for the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States with a $1.4trillion omnibus spending bill for the 2021 federal fiscal yea ...

and that it was too big and would add to the increasing

national debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt, or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit oc ...

. As of January 2022, Carl had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 8% of the time.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Armed Services ** Subcommittee on Military Personnel ** Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces * Committee on Natural Resources ** Subcommittee on Indigenous Peoples of the United States ** Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife

Caucus memberships

Republican Study Committee The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is a study group of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. As of 2021, the Chairman of the RSC is Representative Jim Banks of Indiana. Although the prim ...

Political positions

Carl is a self-described

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Abortion

Carl is anti-abortion, saying in a campaign advertisement that "it’s immoral to stop a beating heart". He has similarly promised to "protect the unborn." Carl called ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...

'' "disastrous" and supported its overturning in 2022.

Immigration

Carl supports the

Trump wall The Trump wall, commonly referred to as "The Wall", is an expansion of the Mexico–United States barrier that started in the U.S. during the 1980’s to keep help enforce immigration laws in the United States. Prior to Donald Trump, border s ...

on the U.S.–Mexico border, saying, "Jerry will stand with Trump, build the wall and end handouts for lawbreaking illegals."

Gun control

Carl has said, "As a conservative, I'll stop liberals from destroying the Second Amendment." The

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

Political Victory Fund The Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) is the political action committee (PAC) of the National Rifle Association (NRA). The Fund contributes money to political campaigns of candidates endorsed by the NRA. Chairman Chris W. Cox, who has been the NR ...

endorsed him in 2020, claiming that he supports right to carry legislation.

Impeachment of Donald Trump

Carl voted against the

, and voted to object to Pennsylvania's and Arizona's electors during the

2021 United States Electoral College vote count The count of the Electoral College ballots during a joint session of the 117th United States Congress, pursuant to the Electoral Count Act, on January 6–7, 2021, was the final step to confirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the 20 ...

Climate change

Carl opposed President Joe Biden's moratorium on oil and gas production, claiming it would destroy as many as 24,000 jobs in Alabama.

Vote to overturn 2020 election

On January 6, 2021, Carl was one of 147 Republican lawmakers who voted to overturn results in the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

Electoral history

Personal life

Carl married Tina in 1981, and they have two children.

References

External links

Representative Jerry Carl
official U.S. House website
Rep. Jerry Carl
official U.S House twitter
Jerry Carl for Congress
* * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Carl, Jerry 1958 births Living people Businesspeople from Alabama Florida Gateway College alumni People from Mobile, Alabama Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama