U.S. House · Alabama's 6th Congressional District
Maurice Mercer
Former Pelham City Council member (2012–2025)D
- Race
- U.S. House · Alabama's 6th Congressional District
- Result
- Gary Palmer, projected winner
- Opponent
- Gary Palmer (R)
- Research
- Basic
Party linenone
No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.
Said vs. did2 statements · 0 votes
Maurice Mercer, a Democrat, business account executive and former Pelham City Council member, lost the November 3, 2026 election for Alabama's 6th Congressional District to Gary Palmer. He served three terms on the council, including as council president from 2020 to 2025, and his Ballotpedia and BirminghamWatch profiles describe him as its first African American member. He won the August 11, 2026 special Democratic primary with 64.2% of the vote and listed raising the minimum wage and health care among his priorities.[1][2][3]
Compare statements with votes ›On the ballotU.S. House · 6
2026-11-03
| Gary Palmer R | incumbent |
| Maurice Mercer D | challenger |
Won the August 11, 2026 Democratic primary with 64.2% of the vote over three other candidates.
Said vs. did
Each documented position next to the recorded floor votes we map to the same issue. Votes are compared one at a time; no overall stance is inferred from them.
Says he would like to see the federal minimum wage raised.
Documented position[4]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Says he is passionate about "healthcare for all" and supports expanding access to affordable healthcare and protecting rural providers.
Documented position[4]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Biography
Maurice Mercer, a Democrat, business account executive and former Pelham City Council member, lost the November 3, 2026 election for Alabama's 6th Congressional District to Gary Palmer. He served three terms on the council, including as council president from 2020 to 2025, and his Ballotpedia and BirminghamWatch profiles describe him as its first African American member. He won the August 11, 2026 special Democratic primary with 64.2% of the vote and listed raising the minimum wage and health care among his priorities.[1][2][3]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
Mercer earned a high school diploma from Midfield High School and a bachelor's degree in business administration from Troy University in 2004. According to his Ballotpedia profile, his career has included work in telecommunications, banking, retail management, organized labor, logistics, small business ownership and public service.[1][2] He currently works as a business account executive, a position BirminghamWatch describes as being with a Fortune 500 company.[1][2]
Mercer served on the Pelham City Council from 2012 to 2025, three terms in all, including as council president from 2020 to 2025. He was the first African American member of the council.[1][2] He earned the Alabama League of Municipalities' Advanced Certified Municipal Officer distinction and, according to his Ballotpedia profile, was nominated for Public Servant of the Year three years in a row. BirminghamWatch's candidate profile says he has served on numerous boards, committees and nonprofit organizations and lists Pelham as his residence.[1][2]
Mercer won the August 11, 2026 special Democratic primary for the 6th District with 64.2% of the vote (5,398 votes), ahead of Ashtyn Kennedy, Keith Pilkington and Jacob Bouma-Sims.[1] He received 42.5% of the vote to Gary Palmer's 57.5%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[3]
On the record
Official actions: bills, executive acts, filings and court records.
- actionServed three terms on the Pelham City Council (2012–2025), including as council president from 2020 to 2025.[4]
In their own words
Priorities
- "Community First, Country Forward": says he has worked across party lines throughout his career and wants to restore civility to public office.[4]
- Education and workforce development, including support for expanded career and technical education, apprenticeships, and raising the federal minimum wage.[4]
- Healthcare access, including expanding affordable healthcare, protecting rural healthcare providers, and improving mental-health services.[4]
Campaign money$6,539 raised · 100% from individuals · FEC through 2026-06-30
Totals this cycle
Bars share one scale (raised = full). Cash on hand can include money carried over from earlier cycles.
Who gave
- Individuals $4,180
Largest committee contributions
No direct contributions from PACs or other committees in the FEC’s bulk data.
Direct contributions only; outside spending is not included. Individual donors are itemized in the FEC’s receipts. All itemized receipts ↗ FEC filing ↗
Profile: /people/maurice-mercer
Compare all 2 candidates side by side ›
Sources cited in this profile
- 1.Maurice Mercer · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey Candidate's own words
- 2.Maurice Mercer - candidate profile · BirminghamWatch News report
- 3.Alabama's 6th Congressional District results 2026 · NBC News News report
- 4.Maurice Mercer · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey Candidate's own words