Alabama Runoff Elections Set Field in Newly Competitive House District

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Shomari Figures, a Democrat who worked in the Justice Department, will face Caroleene Dobson, a lawyer and Republican political newcomer, this November for the seat in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, according to The Associated Press.

The two candidates won primary runoff elections Tuesday in the district, which was redrawn after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that the state had illegally diluted the power of Black voters.

Now that the district has more Black voters, who historically have largely supported Democrats, political analysts see the race for it as one of the most competitive in the South. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report ranks it as a likely Democratic seat. (The district’s current representative, Barry Moore, is expected to remain in Congress after winning the Republican primary in the neighboring 1st Congressional District.)

The 2nd District now stretches across the state, encompassing much of Mobile; Montgomery, the Alabama capital; and several counties in the Black Belt, where rich soil once fueled plantations worked by enslaved people.

In the Republican primary, Dobson faced Dick Brewbaker, a former state senator. Brewbaker repeatedly pointed to his experience in the state Legislature, while Dobson argued that it was time for a newer political voice in Washington.

In the Democratic runoff, Figures’ opponent was state Rep. Anthony Daniels, the House Democratic leader.

Figures’ family has a long political legacy in Alabama: He is the son of Michael Figures and Vivian Davis Figures, who have both served in the state Senate, with Davis Figures winning her husband’s seat after his death in 1996. Shomari Figures moved back to Alabama after working in the Justice Department and the Obama administration.

Daniels does not live in the district — a point of contention in the race, though residency is not a requirement — but grew up there. He argued that his leadership position in the state House had shown that he could deliver for Alabama residents.

The November elections could result in Alabama sending two Black representatives to Washington for the first time in its history if Figures wins and Rep. Terri Sewell, the Democrat in the 6th Congressional District, wins reelection, as analysts widely expect.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times .