2nd Congressional District: Figures, Daniels head to Democratic runoff

Shomari Figures (left) and Anthony Daniels are headed to a runoff for the Democratic nomination for the 2nd Congressional District. (Contributed)

Former Department of Justice official Shomari Figures and Alabama House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels are headed to a runoff for the Democratic nomination in the newly-drawn 2nd Congressional District.

As of 10:16 p.m. Figures had 23,438 votes (43%) while Daniels had 12,718 votes (23%) in unofficial returns posted on the Alabama Secretary of State’s website.

The runoff will take place on April 16.

A federal court in 2022 struck down Alabama’s congressional map, saying they unconstitutionally packed Black voters into a single district. After a lengthy odyssey including three separate appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court and a special session of the Legislature that the court said did not follow its directions, the panel approved a new map last October.  

The district, spanning the southern part of Alabama’s Black Belt and taking in Montgomery, has a Black voting age population of about 49%. Due to racial polarization in Alabama voting, where white voters tend to support Republicans and Black voters tend to support Democrats, the district is expected to lean Democratic in November.

The 11 Democratic candidates in the race tended to mention the importance of expanded health care access and the importance of job creation. Both Figures and Daniels stressed their government experience. 

Figures said last month he wanted to bring his experience in Washington, D.C. to the 2nd Congressional District. He said he supported higher teacher pay and Medicaid expansion.

“Who’s best situated to get them to prioritize the issues that are priorities in this district? That’s what I bring to the table,” he said.

Daniels said he wanted to prioritize healthcare and said he was able to pass important legislation despite being in a superminority in the Alabama Legislature.

“I have a track record of deliverables and doing things that impact people, and I have the receipts to match,” he said.

Daniels reiterated that in a statement on Tuesday night.

“The results tonight show that people in the 2nd Congressional District want a representative that understands their communities and has a strong track record of delivering results,” the statement said.

Figures said in a statement that he was grateful for the support of voters and said he hoped to earn the support of the other candidate who ran in the race.

“When this district was drawn, we knew we had an opportunity to send experienced leadership to Washington so that the voices of those from Mobile to Montgomery and every county in between would finally be represented in Congress,” the statement said. “Tonight, voters across the 2nd district seized that opportunity, and we owe this to each person who cast a ballot, volunteered, and supported our campaign.”

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