Democrat Shomari Figures and Republican Caroleene Dobson will face off in November for Alabama’s newly drawn 2nd Congressional District seat.
The two candidates won their respective runoffs Tuesday, setting the stage for a general election campaign that Democrats are closely eyeing. A Democratic win would give the party an additional seat in the state’s congressional delegation and help Democrats in their effort to regain control of the U.S. House.
Last summer, in Allen v. Milligan, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the proposed Alabama congressional district map was gerrymandered, discriminating against Black voters. The state initially refused to redraw the map, defying a federal court order. But a new map was eventually drawn, giving an opportunity for another nearly majority Black district in Alabama and setting the stage for the competitive primaries.
Figures is the son of state Sen. Vivian Figures and former state Sen. Michael Figures. He served in the White House and the Department of Justice during the Obama administration’s second term. He later served as deputy chief of staff and counselor to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland during the Biden administration.