Shomari Figures Holds Alabama District 2 in Hard-Fought Midterm Rematch
South Alabama voters have sent Democratic incumbent Rep. Shomari Figures back to Washington, handing him a decisive victory in a congressional district completely reshaped by legal battles over voting rights and political boundaries. WSFA reported that Figures secured 54% of the vote with 91% of precincts reporting as of Tuesday night, outpacing Republican challenger Rhett Marques by nearly 17,000 votes.
The contest for Alabama’s Congressional District 2 carried immense weight nationally, unfolding across a nearly 40% Black district confined to the southeastern corner of the state. Figures first captured the seat during the 2024 election cycle, riding a court-drawn map that replaced a legislature-approved boundary. That previous judicial intervention stemmed from federal litigation finding that the state’s original map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by improperly diluting the impact of Black voters.
Yet the political terrain shifted beneath the candidates ahead of this midterm showdown. Following the legal precedent set by Louisiana v. Callais, which weighed restrictions on considering race in drawing congressional lines, Alabama officials quickly implemented a map that had previously been flagged by the courts. With the district altered from its 2024 configuration, demographics theoretically positioned Marques—who spent the better part of the last decade serving in the state legislature—to flip the seat back to the Republican column.
Figures Holds Democratic Seat Despite Active Campaign by Marques
Marques mounted an active campaign grounded in his extensive legislative background, challenging Figures across a vast swath of Southeast Alabama. Despite the redrawn boundaries that favored a more Republican-leaning electorate compared to the previous court-ordered configuration, Figures held his ground to maintain the Democratic grip on the seat.
The race also unfolded alongside broader legislative and constitutional decisions across Alabama, where residents weighed four separate state constitutional amendments alongside local and county contests. Nationally, the fight for District 2 formed a single battleground within a sweeping cycle that saw control of both chambers of Congress fiercely contested.
“At the end of the day, tonight is about being able to be thankful and grateful that we have the opportunity to go back to D.C. and continue to push forward in this district,” Figures told supporters at his Montgomery election night watch party, according to coverage from WRKF.
Figures also pointed directly to the turbulent path of redistricting that defined his first term. Pointing to the shifting judicial standards and legislative maneuvers that repeatedly redrew his constituency, he signaled that federal voting rights legislation would remain a top priority when the new congressional session begins.
“We know what happened with the redistricting process, and we look forward to trying to address some of the means that allowed that to happen once we get back into the majority,” Figures added during his watch party remarks, as reported by WRKF.
With the Associated Press officially calling the race, Alabama’s second congressional district settles its immediate political future, even as the broader legal questions surrounding map-making and representation in the Deep South continue to reverberate.
Shomari Figures victory speech after winning Alabama Congressional District 2. #alabama #shomarifigures #elections pic.twitter.com/lypi8f859W
