Gary J. Palmer
RIncumbentFEC H4AL06098
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Raised this cycle$1.2M
Cash on hand: $74K
2026 race
AL-06 — U.S. House
2 candidates on the November ballot. Incumbent: Gary J. Palmer.
Read the record. Not the rhetoric.
See where these candidates stand — and who's funding them.
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How we got here · 2 earlier contests
Democratic primary · Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Called by verified 2026-10-14 (AL redistricting special primary)
Maurice MercerWon64.2%
- DKeith Ross PilkingtonDefeated7.3%
- DKimberly Ashtyn KennedyDefeated21.3%
- DJacob Henry Bouma-SimsDefeated7.2%
Republican primary · Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Called by verified 2026-10-14 (AL SOS; redistricting special primary)
Gary J. PalmerWon87.0%
- RCase DixonDefeated13.0%
Election held
Counting
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Results appear here once a race is called and verified. Official returns from the Alabama Secretary of State.
Make sure you can vote
Disclosed money in race
$1.4M
Candidate + outside spending. See finance breakdown below.
Incumbent
Currently in office
Challengers
Sorted by fundraising
Maurice Mercer
DChallengerFEC H6AL06184
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Raised this cycle$35K
Cash on hand: $14K
5 defeated candidates — show
Case Dixon
RDefeatedChallengerFEC H6AL06135
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Raised this cycle$25K
Cash on hand: $579
Elizabeth Anderson
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H4AL06189
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Raised this cycle$16K
Cash on hand: $3K
Kimberly Ashtyn Kennedy
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6AL06168
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Raised this cycle$10K
Cash on hand: $334
Jacob Henry Bouma-Sims
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6AL06150
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Raised this cycle$0
Cash on hand: $0
Keith Ross Pilkington
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6AL06143
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Raised this cycle$0
Cash on hand: $0
Local signal
Early read on AL-06 — U.S. House
A directional read on where this seat is trending, from the signals we have so far. This is an early scaffold — more inputs light up as coverage and constituent activity accrue.
Coverage tone · the matchup
Recent news coverage of the nominees heading to the general election.
Gary J. Palmerlimited coverage
No coverage in our tracked outlets in the last 90 days.
Maurice Mercerlimited coverage
No coverage in our tracked outlets in the last 90 days.
A media signal, not a poll of the district.
Constituent stakes
No one here has staked a position on a tracked vote yet. As neighbors weigh in on /pressure campaigns, the district's lean will show up here.
Money in the race
Finance breakdown
Disclosed funding shaping this race — both the money candidates raise themselves and the outside spending dropped by independent groups. Issue-ad spending by 501(c)(4) groups is excluded; the FEC doesn't require disclosure of it. See the note below for details.
Candidate fundraising: FEC reports through October 14, 2026 · 2025–26 cycle
Total disclosed
$1.4M
Candidate fundraising + independent expenditures (FEC).
Candidate-direct (Schedule A)
$1.2M
Raised by candidate committees themselves.
Outside spending (Schedule E)
$131K
$131K for · $0 against
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Gary J. Palmer(R)incumbent + AMERICAN CHEMISTRY COUNCIL, INC $131K | $1.2M | $131K | — | $1.3M |
Maurice Mercer(D) | $35K | — | — | $35K |
5 defeated candidates — show finances
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Case Dixon(R)defeated | $25K | — | — | $25K |
Elizabeth Anderson(D)defeated | $16K | — | — | $16K |
Kimberly Ashtyn Kennedy(D)defeated | $10K | — | — | $10K |
Jacob Henry Bouma-Sims(D)defeated | $0 | — | — | $0 |
Keith Ross Pilkington(D)defeated | $0 | — | — | $0 |
Where the money comes from
In-state vs out-of-state
Share of each candidate's itemized individual contributions from donors inside AL versus the rest of the country. Excludes sub-$200 unitemized donations (no geography on file) and PAC money — see note below.
Gary J. Palmer(R)76% in-state · $565K itemized
$428K in-state$137K out-of-state
Maurice Mercer(D)100% in-state · $500 itemized
$500 in-state$0 out-of-state
3 defeated candidates — show
Case Dixon(R)defeated40% in-state · $9K itemized
$3K in-state$5K out-of-state
Elizabeth Anderson(D)defeated100% in-state · $7K itemized
$7K in-state$0 out-of-state
Kimberly Ashtyn Kennedy(D)defeated76% in-state · $2K itemized
$2K in-state$500 out-of-state
What's counted, what isn't
Candidate-direct is each campaign's reported receipts on FEC Schedule A — individual contributions plus PAC contributions to the candidate's own committee — through the most recent filing.
Outside spending is independent expenditures on FEC Schedule E: money spent by PACs, super PACs, and party committees for or against a candidate, without legal coordination with the campaign. The committees listed under each candidate are the largest disclosed spenders on either side.
In-state vs out-of-state covers only itemized individual contributions — donations over $200, which are the only ones that carry a contributor address at the FEC. Sub-$200 unitemized donations (often a large share for grassroots campaigns) have no geography on file and are excluded, as is PAC money. So the percentages describe where a candidate's itemized individual money comes from, not where every dollar raised comes from.
Not counted: 501(c)(4) "social welfare" organizations run issue ads that frequently mention candidates by name but aren't classified as express advocacy under FEC rules — they file no Schedule E and don't appear in this breakdown. Press reporting on a race may cite figures that include this dark-money spending; ours doesn't.
Where they stand
Issue-by-issue comparison
Positions extracted from each candidate's campaign issues page by AI. Contested rows — where candidates disagree with each other — appear first.
| Statement | Palmer | Mercer | You |
|---|---|---|---|
Abortion A national law should protect access to abortion in every state. | — | ||
Abortion Tax dollars should not pay for abortions. | — | ||
Economy Reducing the national debt should be a higher priority than new spending. | — | ||
Environment The government should set legally enforceable limits on greenhouse gas emissions. | — | ||
Environment Government environmental reviews for energy and infrastructure projects should move faster, even if it means fewer reviews. | — | ||
Environment The government should stop subsidizing oil and gas companies. | — | ||
Foreign Policy The U.S. should spend more on the military. | — | ||
Guns Civilian ownership of AR-15-style rifles should be restricted. | — | ||
Healthcare The government should provide healthcare for everyone. | — | ||
Healthcare Enhanced ACA premium subsidies should be made permanent at expanded levels. | — | ||
Healthcare A government-run public health insurance option should be added to the ACA marketplace. | — | ||
Immigration People who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children should have a path to citizenship. | — | ||
Immigration The U.S. should do more to enforce immigration laws and secure the border. | — |
SupportsOpposesNo public positionRinged = confirmed by the campaign
About this race page
Candidate roster is sourced from the FEC's active-candidate list for the 2026 cycle. Fundraising totals reflect committee filings through the last reporting period.
Alignment % compares the candidate's extracted policy positions against your quiz answers. Positions are pulled from the candidate's campaign issues page by AI; we save the source quote for each position so you can verify the extraction. Candidates without a campaign issues page show position data pending — we're working through the roster and re-checking stale extractions every 90 days.
News coverage is from the GDELT 2.0 global news feed, filtered to a curated list of national, political, and regional outlets.