MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Shomari Figures, a former top aide to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, has won the Democratic nomination in a runoff for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District.
Figures defeated state House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels and will face the Republican nominee in the closely watched November general election. The Republican nomination is also being decided by a runoff. Former state Sen. Dick Brewbaker faces real estate attorney and political newcomer Caroleene Dobson to decide the party’s nomination.
Democrats are aiming to flip the Deep South seat, which has been held by Republicans, after it was redrawn by a federal court to boost the voting power of Black residents.
Figures, an attorney, also served as an aide to former President Barrack Obama, serving as domestic director of the Presidential Personnel Office. He is the son of two prominent Alabama legislators, longtime state Sen. Vivian Davis Figures and the late Senate President Pro Tem Michael Figures.
Figures moved home to Mobile from Washington D.C. to run for the congressional seat.
Federal judges approved new district lines in October after ruling that Alabama’s previous map — which had only one majority-Black district out of seven — was racially gerrymandered to limit the influence of the state’s Black voters. The three-judge panel said Alabama, which is about 27% Black, should have a second district where Black voters make up a substantial portion of the voting age population and have a reasonable opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice.
The new district spans the width of the state and includes Montgomery, parts of Mobile and rural counties in the state’s Black Belt.
The district is considered Democratic leaning but not a certainty for the Democratic candidate. Republicans are hoping to maintain control of the seat. The outcome of the November election, with control of the U.S. House of Representatives on the line, is expected to be closely watched.
Brewbaker led in the March primary, capturing 37% of the vote to Dobson’s 24.76%.
Dobson, who was raised in Monroe County, lived and practiced law in Texas before returning to Alabama and joining the Maynard Nexsen law firm in 2019. She is a member of the Alabama Forestry Commission.
Brewbaker, a businessman and owner of a Montgomery car dealership, served a term in the Alabama House and two terms in the Alabama Senate. He did not seek reelection in 2018.
