Shomali Figures, a former Justice Department Democrat, will face attorney and Republican political newcomer Caroleen Dobson for Alabama's 2nd Congressional District seat in November, according to the Associated Press. .
Both candidates won Tuesday's primary runoff elections in the district, but the decision came after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that the state was illegally diluting the power of black voters. Election votes were redrawn.
Political analysts believe the race will be one of the most competitive in the South, as the district has a growing black electorate that has historically supported primarily Democrats. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report ranks the party as a strong Democratic seat. (The district's current congressman, Barry Moore, is expected to remain in Congress after winning the Republican primary in the adjacent 1st Congressional District.)
District 2 currently spans the entire state and covers most of Mobile. Montgomery, the capital of Alabama. And in some Black Belt counties, rich soil once fueled plantations worked by enslaved people.
Dobson faced former state Sen. Dick Brubaker in the Republican primary. Mr. Brewbaker repeatedly pointed to his own experience in the state Legislature, and Mr. Dobson argued that the time had come for a new political voice in Washington.
In the Democratic runoff, Figures' opponent was state Rep. Anthony Daniels, the House Democratic leader.
Mr. Figures' family has a long political legacy in Alabama. He is the son of former state senators Michael and Vivian Davis Figures, who won the seat after her husband died in 1996. After he worked in the Justice Department and the Obama administration, he returned to Alabama.
Although residency is not a requirement, Daniels does not live in the district in question, although he grew up there. He argued that his leadership position in the state Legislature shows he can serve the people of Alabama.
If Mr. Figures wins the November election and Democratic U.S. Rep. Terry Sewell of the 6th Congressional District is re-elected, as analysts widely expect, Alabama will have two black elected officials for the first time in its history. may be sent to Washington. .