Mobile County Commissioner Jerry Carl is outspending his Republican opponents in the race for Alabama’s 1st congressional district seat ahead of the March 3 primary.

According to federal election filings, Carl spent $456,363 between Jan. 1 and Feb. 12, with the lion share of those expenditures going toward two large media buys with Ohio-based Lakeside Communications totaling $359,235.

His closest opponents – former state Sen. Bill Hightower of Mobile and state Rep. Chris Pringle of Mobile – are spending less than half than what Carl has spent since the first of the year. According to FEC filings, Hightower spent $183,583 between Jan. 1 and Feb. 12, while Pringle has spent $175,624 during that same time period.

The federal filings show that Hightower continues to outpace Pringle and Carl in individual contributions. Hightower raised $63,281, during the Jan. 1 to Feb. 12, time period, with Pringle at $53,035 and Carl at 30,531.

Hightower and Carl, as of Feb. 12, have nearly the same amount of cash on hand. Hightower heads into the final weeks of the primary campaign with $249,274, while Carl has $266,721. Pringle has $101,809.

Hightower has outraised his GOP primary opponents from individual contributions, amassing $673,552.

Carl has raised $511,794 from individual contributions, and has loaned his campaigned $455,000, to help boost a war chest that is approaching $1 million.

Pringle, meanwhile, has generated $447,701 through individual contributions since the campaign started.

State Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, speaks during a congressional candidates forum on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020, in Robertsdale, Ala. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

Trailing behind are Spanish Fort restauranteur Wes Lambert and Fairhope military veteran John Castorani. There was no updated campaign filing for Lambert, who ended December with $76,887 cash on hand.

Castorani raised $8,805 from Jan. 1 to Feb. 12, and ended his campaign with $9,680 cash on hand.

According to a WKRG-TV News 5/Strategy Research poll, the spending from Carl appears to be paying off. He leads the race with 29% followed by Hightower with 21, and Pringle with 13%. Lambert and Castorani were polling in the low-single digits.

Of those polled, 32% were undecided.

Democratic candidates for Alabama's 1st Congressional district participate in a televised debate on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, at the GulfQuest Maritime Museum in downtown Mobile, Ala. Pictured from left to right are James Averhart, Rick Collins and Kiani Gardner. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

In the Democratic race, Kiani Gardner outpaced her two rivals by raising $23,634 from Jan. 1 to Feb. 12, and spent $20,627. She ended the time period with $12,064 cash on hand.

Rick Collins raised $1,917 through individual contributions, and loaned himself $10,000. She spent $23,713 during the time period, ending with $3,388 cash on hand.

James Averhart, who spent $7,545 during the time period, has $12,064 cash on hand.

The News 5/Strategy Research poll showed Gardner, a college professor, at 25% and ahead of Averhart’s 21%. Averhart is a retired Marine.

Collins, a Mobile Realtor, is in third place at 14%. Among the Democrats polled, 40% said they were undecided.