MONTGOMERY — Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed has endorsed Shomari Figures as the Democrat candidate for Alabama’s second congressional district race.
The new district is part of a redistricting rewrite ordered by a federal court in an ongoing Voting Rights Act lawsuit against the state of Alabama. The district spans from Montgomery to Mobile, going as far west as Washington County and east as Russell and Barbour counties.
A court-ordered special master effectively drew the district to give Democrats a better shot at sending a second representative to Congress. The race is being watched nationally because it could decide which party controls the House starting next year. Republicans currently have a narrow majority.
Reed, a Democrat, said at a Wednesday press conference that the race result wasn’t yet a “foregone conclusion.”
“It’s not something we should take for granted. It’s not something we should assume will happen. It’s something that we have to make happen,” Reed said.
Figures said at the press conference, “When you go to Congress, you have a very narrow job description. It’s to go to Congress and bring home the resources that are necessary for your communities to be as viable and successful as they can possibly be.”
“That starts with strong partnerships at the local, community, and state levels. You have to have that. Working with Mayor Reed, working with other mayors across this district, working with county commission leadership, working with city councilman and community leaders, we’re going to identify the best ways we can leverage the federal government to help resolve the issues here in this district,” he added.
Caroleene Dobson, Figures’ Republican opponent, told 1819 News on Wednesday, “I would like to congratulate Shomari Figures on the least surprising and most obvious endorsement in the history of Alabama politics.”
“It’s like Joe Biden endorsing Kamala Harris,” she added.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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