Shomari Figures

The majority in the U.S. House hangs in balance. It was teetering this week between Republican control that would usher in a new era of unified GOP governance in Washington or a flip to Democrats as a last line of resistance to a Trump second-term White House agenda. A few individual seats, or even a single one, will determine the outcome. Alabama’s new U.S. House member, Shomari Figures, in district 2 is part of redistricting in the South that could tell the tale.

Democrat Shomari Figures has won election to Alabama’s newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District. That flips a seat that had been previously held by the GOP. Figures defeated Republican Caroleene Dobson to win the open seat. The district was reshaped last year after federal judges ruled Alabama’s congressional lines illegally diluted the voting power of Black residents.

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

Alabama voters are deciding who will represent a congressional district redrawn after a lengthy redistricting battle. Democrat Shomari Figures is a former top aide to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. He faces Republican Caroleene Dobson, an attorney and political newcomer.

Control of Congress is at stake Tuesday, with ever-tight races for the House and Senate that will determine which party holds the majority and the power to boost or block a president's agenda, or if the White House confronts a divided Capitol Hill. One race being watched is the fight for Alabama’s newly redrawn U.S. House seat in District 2, which was at the heart of Alabama Public Radio’s latest investigation, “…a U.S. House seat, if you can keep it.”

The APR News team spoke with the people at the heart of the first election for Alabama’s newly redrawn Congressional District 2. The U.S. Supreme Court ordered deep red Alabama to redraw its voting map to better represent African American voters, who make up roughly a third of the state’s population. APR's investigation focused on the legal challenges being mounted by GOP lawmakers to overturn the new minority majority district map, as well as rural healthcare, and the future of black owned businesses. Along with these issues, in the background, was the concern over what critics say is Alabama’s long history of voter suppression.

The two candidates for Alabama's Congressional District 2, which was redrawn by a federal court after a lengthy redistricting battle, made their final campaign pushes this week, seeking to drive turnout in the race that could play a role in the battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives. APR's documentary on District 2, "...a U.S. House seat, if you can keep it" premiered last night on Alabama Public Radio.

The APR news team spent nine months investigating issues surrounding the new Congressional District 2. The new documentary “…a U.S. House seat, if you can keep it” airs Friday night at 7 p.m. on Alabama Public Radio.

The Minority leader of the U.S. House is coming to South Alabama to campaign for the state’s newly redrawn Congressional seat. Hakeem Jeffries will be in Montgomery today to support Shomari Figures’ bid for District two

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who backed litigation that resulted in the redrawing of Alabama's 2nd Congressional District, called next week's election a historic opportunity for the state's voters. Holder appeared with the district's Democratic nominee Shomari Figures at a series of Monday campaign stops in Mobile.