Figures, Dobson makes closing pitches to voters in Alabama’s congressional race

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The two candidates for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, which was redrawn by a federal court after a long redistricting battle, made their last campaign efforts this week, looking to boost turnout at the race that could play an important role. in the battle for control of the US House of Representatives.

The once-safe Republican seat was reshaped after a federal court ruled that Alabama illegally diluted the power of black voters. The Nonpartisan Cook Political Report ranks the new district, where black voters make up nearly 49 percent of the voting-age population, as “likely Democratic.” But both campaigns have said the seat is competitive.

In their final messages, both candidates emphasized a boost to voter turnout.

Standing next to a statue of Rosa Parks in downtown Montgomery, Democratic candidate Shomari Figures called the race Thursday an opportunity to build on the progress of the civil rights movement. Figures, the son of a civil rights attorney and Alabama lawmaker, served as a top adviser to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and as an adviser in the Obama White House.

“When you grow up in Mobile and in Alabama, you learn very early in life the role the federal government had to play in making the state do good by its people,” Figures said during a stop in Mobile.

The numbers underscored the need to work on longstanding problems with health care, infrastructure and education, often noting that Alabamians have some of the lowest life expectancies in the nation.

“We’re going to win this thing. But the goal is not to win. The goal is to get the job done,” he said.

Former President Barack Obama recorded a message encouraging voters to support the numbers. “America needs you to once again lead the charge for change,” Obama said in the message, which also invoked the state’s civil rights history.

U.S. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries traveled to Alabama to support the figures as Democrats have an opportunity to flip the seat in the Deep South.

Republican Caroleene Dobson highlighted concerns about inflation and immigration, issues she said are concerns for families across the political spectrum. On Friday, she greeted the breakfast crowd at a popular Montgomery deli.

The race is about turnout, she told supporters. “I think now is an opportunity for the people of this district to really send a message to Washington. We don’t want more of the status quo.” Dobson said afterwards.

Dobson, a real estate attorney, repeatedly called Figures a “Washington insider.”

“What is consistent in every conversation I have in the district is that we cannot sustain four more years of high prices and rising crime. And not only does my opponent have no solutions to these problems, he helped implement the policies that caused these problems,” Dobson said.

The Alabama Republican Party sent a series of controversial emails trying to attack Figures. One about a Justice Department clemency initiative had a large photo of a black man arrested on a drug-trafficking charge in 2023, with text that said Figures “supports the release of dangerous criminals.”

Figures in a statement called the ads an attempt at “race baiting”.

“If the Republican party wanted to send out a criminal email, they should have sent out an email with Donald Trump on it,” Figures added.

Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl defended the reporters, saying “crime affects people of all backgrounds and every victim deserves justice, regardless of race.”

The posts were sent by the state party and not the Dobson campaign.

During Friday’s campaign stop, Charlie Trotman, a Montgomery real estate developer, told Dobson he had his vote.

“She is for me someone I would be very proud to represent us. I think she’s smart,” Trotman said.

In Mobile, Shalela Dowdy, one of the black voters who challenged the state’s previous map, called the election “the fight of our lives” but said she was cautiously optimistic.

Dowdy, a graduate of the West Point Military Academy, said she joined the lawsuit because the needs of black communities were being ignored. She said the district is now drawn, so the winner will have to answer to all communities, both black and white.

“It’s going to give them a seat at the table, to have a voice and not be forgotten,” Dowdy said.

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Associated Press writer Safiyah Riddle contributed to this report.