Crowded field vies for primary nominations in new Alabama 2nd Congressional District
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
PHENIX CITY, Ala. (WRBL) — One of the congressional races in Alabama is drawing keen interest for several reasons.
Voters in Russell and Barbour counties are casting primary ballots today in the Alabama 2nd Congressional District contest.
Alabama Primary Election Results for March 5, 2024
The Alabama 2nd is brand new and covers wide slice of the state from the Georgia line in the east to the Mississippi line in the west.
But one of the thing that makes it interesting and attractive is the full field, which will be whittled down during Tuesday’s primaries.
The 2nd Congressional District includes 13 counties that run across Alabama. It has Montgomery and parts of Mobile sprinkled in among some really rural and poor counties.
But that hasn’t diminished the interest in this new seat – one of 435 nationwide.
The field is crowded – 11 people are seeking the Democratic nomination in today’s primary. There are seven Republicans fighting for the nomination on the other side.
Of the 18 candidates, only one is from East Alabama. State Rep. Jeremy Gray has a Phenix City residence and represents parts of Russell and Lee counties in the Alabama legislature.
“Most of the area is rural,” Gray said. “When you talk about from Phenix City down to Mobile it’s four hours. So, a four-hour district that’s a lot of ground to cover in a day. When you think about how you hit each county in the district and how you hit each person in the district, it’s much tougher. Because you can’t hit everyone. So, you have to hit the populated areas. You have to hit the areas you are familiar with. But you have to touch all 13 counties. And that’s a challenge and I have done that over the last four months.”
And as Gray has crossed the state, he’s found that from the Chattahoochee to the other side of the Alabama River, the people share common hopes.
“Everybody wants quality education, they want affordable healthcare and they want good paying jobs,” Gray said. “If you go throughout the district whether it’s Montgomery, Mobile or Russell County, Pike County, those are the essential things. Now, all of the places in the district are not the same. But when you think about the three things you hear throughout the district, those are the things you hear. So, you can’t say it’s a one size fits all model. But you can say people care about healthcare, they care about jobs and they care about education.”
And this is a part of the state that has often been forgotten and is begging for representation in Washington.
“The Alabama 2nd is a group of people from Mobile-Pritchard area all the way up to Russell County,” Gray said. “Eleven of those 13 counties are rural counties. So, you’re talking about people for generations who have suffered. They don’t have things like infrastructure, health care. This is an area that actually needs representation, needs funding to come down to the community. And this is the first time that I’ve known in history that these group of people, the 700,000 people in District 2, will have representation from people who look like them. Right? And actually, understand the issues, and how to get the resources to them. And so, this is a historic moment, not for just the people running, but also for the people in that district.”
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL.
