As of 10:25 pm, with sixty of Alabama’s sixty seven counties reporting their vote tallies, NBC News is projecting that Democrat Shomari Figures has won the State’s newly redrawn Congressional District two. The race with Republican Caroleene Dobson see-sawed through the nights as precincts slowly delivered their voting results. The U.S. Supreme Court ordered deep red Alabama to redraw its Congressional map to better represent African American voters. The APR news team spent nine months investigating issues facing voters in this district, which includes rural counties as well as parts of Mobile and Montgomery Counties. The vote count at 10:26 pm had Figures narrowly leading Dobson 50.35% to 49.57%. APR news will update the results as the final counties check in.
(Update at 10:45 pm— with sixty one counties reporting, Figures led Dobson 54.98% to 44.95%)
The district, which had been reliably Republican, became competitive after it was reshaped last year by federal judges. A federal court ruled that Alabama had illegally diluted the influence of Black voters and redrew the district to increase the percentage of Black voters. The AP reported that Figures projected win would give Alabama a second Black representative in its congressional delegation for the first time in history, presuming Rep. Terri Sewell also wins reelection.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report had rated the reshaped district as "likely Democrat" but both campaigns stressed that it is a competitive race. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee named Figures to its "Red to Blue" program, a slate of priority candidates they believed could flip districts from Republican control. The National Republican Congressional Committee similarly named Dobson to its list of priority candidates called the "Young Guns."
Figures is an attorney who served as deputy chief of staff and counselor to Garland. He also was an aide to former President Barack Obama, serving as domestic director of the Presidential Personnel Office. On the campaign trail, Figures, 39, discussed the district's profound needs in infrastructure, education, and health care. Obama recorded robocalls encouraging voters to support Figures. U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also traveled to Alabama to support Figures, underscoring the role the district could play in which party has control of Congress.
Throughput the race, Figures said he wants to use his Washington experience to benefit his home state.
Dobson, a real estate attorney, had criticized Figures as a "Washington D.C. insider" because of his lengthy Washington resume and connections to the Obama and Biden administrations. Dobson, 37, emphasized concerns about border security, inflation, and crime — issues that she said resonate with voters across the political spectrum.
"I'm running to make life better for Alabama families. I want to bring down prices. I want to make our communities safe. I want to secure our country and I most importantly I want to make sure that every kid in this district has the opportunity for success here in south Alabama," Dobson said Tuesday.
The heated election comes after a bitter legal fight over the shape of the district.
Federal judges approved new district lines after ruling that Alabama's previous map — which had only one majority-Black district out of seven — was likely racially gerrymandered to limit the influence of Black voters in a state that is 27% Black. The three-judge panel said Alabama should have a second district where Black voters make up a substantial portion of the electorate and have a reasonable opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice.
The new district, where Black residents make up nearly 49% of the voting age population, spans the width of the state and includes the capital city of Montgomery, parts of the port city of Mobile as well as rural counties.
The battle over the district lines is not finished. The district was created because a court issued a preliminary injunction blocking use of the state's prior map. The lawsuit is set to go to trial in February.
