John Mills (Alabama)

This candidate is participating in a 2026 battleground election. Click here to read more about that election.

John Mills

Republican Party

Candidate, U.S. House Alabama District 1

Elections and appointments

Next election

May 19, 2026

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Navy

Years of service

1981 - 2008

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

John Mills (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Alabama's 1st Congressional District. Mills is on the ballot in the Republican primary on May 19, 2026.^[source]

Mills completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.

2026 battleground election

See also: Alabama's 1st Congressional District election, 2026 (May 19 Republican primary)

Ballotpedia identified the May 19 Republican primary for Alabama's 1st Congressional District as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.

Jerry Carl (R), Rhett Marques (R), Joshua McKee (R), and four others are running in the Republican primary for Alabama's 1st Congressional District on May 19, 2026. As of January 2026, Carl, Marques, and McKee led in fundraising and local media attention.

Incumbent Barry Moore (R) is running for U.S. Senate rather than seeking re-election. AL.com's Howard Koplowitz and Hannah Denham wrote that "[winning] the race is tantamount to election in the heavily red district, which stretches from the Wiregrass region of Alabama to parts of Mobile and Baldwin counties." As of January 2026, major election forecasters rated the general election as Solid/Safe Republican.

Carl is a former member of the U.S. House. Carl represented the 1st District from 2021–2025 before losing to Moore 52%–48% in the 2024 primary after redistricting placed the two in the same district. He also served on the Mobile County Commission for eight years. Carl's campaign website describes him as "an outsider, a job creator, and a businessman looking to get things done."

Marques was elected to the Alabama House in 2018 and is the owner and operator of an automotive service center. Marques describes himself as "a proven conservative fighter with a strong record of putting Alabama’s families first and protecting our values." Marques' campaign says he "is also routinely called upon to bring Republicans together to support conservative bills...His ability to unify will be critical to the success of the geographically unique district."

McKee is a veteran of the U.S. Army who served in the Green Berets. After leaving the Army, McKee worked for General Motors and Hewlett-Packard. McKee says he is running "to bring mission-focused leadership to Washington, reform broken systems like the VA, and restore the American Dream for Alabama families." McKee says he has "battled America’s enemies overseas – now I’m ready to defeat the enemies of freedom here at home."

Also running in the primary are James Dees (R), John Mills (R), James Richardson (R), and Austin Sidwell (R).

If no candidate wins more than 50% of votes, the top two finishers will advance to a June 16 runoff.

Elections

2026

See also: Alabama's 1st Congressional District election, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on May 19, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for U.S. House Alabama District 1

Clyde Jones (D) is running in the general election for U.S. House Alabama District 1 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Clyde Jones (D)

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

The Democratic primary scheduled for May 19, 2026, was canceled. Clyde Jones (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Alabama District 1 without appearing on the ballot.

Republican primary

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Republican primary for U.S. House Alabama District 1

The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Alabama District 1 on May 19, 2026.

		Candidate
		Jerry Carl
		James Dees
		Rhett Marques
		Joshua McKee
		John Mills
		James Richardson
		Austin Sidwell

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Barry Moore (R)

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from RealClearPolitics, when available. We will regularly check for polling aggregation for this race and add polls here once available. To notify us of polls available for this race, please email us.

Election campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Jerry Carl	Republican Party	$480,928	$242,238	$307,981	As of December 31, 2025
James Dees	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Rhett Marques	Republican Party	$875,879	$100,657	$775,222	As of December 31, 2025
Joshua McKee	Republican Party	$339,762	$74,407	$265,355	As of December 31, 2025
John Mills	Republican Party	$11,061	$12,757	$362	As of December 31, 2025
James Richardson	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Austin Sidwell	Republican Party	$74,848	$50,609	$24,239	As of December 31, 2025
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.

If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.

By candidate	By election
Jerry Carl James Dees Rhett Marques Joshua McKee James Richardson Austin Sidwell	OpenSecrets Federal Election Commission

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

John Mills completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Mills' responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am John Mills, a retired U.S. Navy pilot, aviation professional, and Republican candidate for Congress in Alabama’s 1st District. My life has been shaped by service, discipline, and a deep respect for faith, family, and country.

Over the course of my career, I have served in uniform, worked in aviation and technical writing, and stayed involved in efforts that support veterans, national defense, and the communities I care about. Those experiences taught me the value of preparation, accountability, and steady leadership under pressure.

I believe America is strongest when government is limited, liberty is protected, families are strengthened, and public servants remember they answer to the people. That belief is what led me to run for Congress.

I am offering voters a candidacy grounded in real-world service, constitutional conviction, and a commitment to represent the people of South Alabama with honesty, courage, and common sense.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I am not running for Congress to go along, get along, or become part of Washington’s political machinery. I am running because our country is in trouble, and too many elected officials lack the courage to say so plainly or the conviction to do anything about it.

  I am a retired U.S. Navy pilot, a constitutional conservative, and a man shaped by faith, service, and duty. I believe public office is a trust, not a career. The people of Alabama’s 1st District deserve a representative who will tell the truth, defend liberty, and stand firm when it counts.

  My campaign is about restoring principled leadership, protecting the freedoms God gave us, and putting Faith, Family, and Freedom back where they belong—at the center of American public life.
• The most important qualities for an elected official are integrity, courage, humility, faithfulness to the Constitution, and accountability to the people. An elected official should be willing to stand for what is right even when it is difficult or unpopular. Public servants must tell the truth, keep their word, and remember that they answer to the people they represent, not to party leadership, lobbyists, or bureaucratic interests.
• The core responsibilities of a member of Congress are to uphold the Constitution, faithfully represent the people of the district, protect taxpayer dollars, provide oversight of the executive branch, and support laws that preserve liberty, security, and opportunity. A representative should listen to constituents, speak honestly, and remember that public office is a position of trust. The job is not to build personal power, but to serve the people with integrity and courage.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am especially passionate about constitutional government, border security, election integrity, national defense, veterans’ issues, protection of life, parental rights, energy independence, and restoring fiscal responsibility in Washington.

I also care deeply about strengthening the economy of South Alabama by supporting policies that encourage job growth in aviation, defense, manufacturing, and related industries. I believe the government should protect freedom, promote opportunity, and respect the rights of citizens rather than burden them with bureaucracy and overreach.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

My campaign has been endorsed by Mike Lindell, founder and CEO of MyPillow, and Dr. Douglas G. Frank. Mike Lindell said I am “the kind of leader America needs right now,” citing my service, integrity, and commitment to faith, family, freedom, and the Constitution. Dr. Frank said he was “delighted to endorse John Mills’ run for Congress in Alabama’s 1st District,” describing me as a constitutional conservative, a strong match for the values of the people I seek to serve, and a man who has spent a lifetime serving our country.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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John Mills campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. House Alabama District 1	On the Ballot primary	$11,061	$12,757
Grand total			$11,061	$12,757
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

2026 Elections

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Government

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External links

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Candidate

U.S. House Alabama District 1

Website

Facebook

Footnotes

[show]

Alabama's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Katie Britt (R)

Tommy Tuberville (R)

Representatives

District 1

Barry Moore (R)

District 2

Shomari Figures (D)

District 3

Mike Rogers (R)

District 4

Robert Aderholt (R)

District 5

Dale Strong (R)

District 6

Gary Palmer (R)

District 7

Terri Sewell (D)

Republican Party (7)

Democratic Party (2)