In these trying times, it’s natural to look around and wonder what we can possibly do. The Democrats are, as of this writing, figuring out who they’re running for President. I’m doubtful that you or I are going to have any influence whatsoever on that decision.
But we can phone bank for Shomari Figures, and help flip a seat for the Democrats.
The race
A Republican has represented District 2 since 1965, except for 2009 to 2011 when former Democratic Rep. Bobby Bright served a single term.
Last year, a three-judge panel redrew six safe Republican districts and one safe Democratic district to create two Blacker, more Democrat-leaning districts in Alabama.
Election data shows that D2 is roughly 49% Black and leans Democratic.
Many believe the district is up for grabs, likely at least part of why Figures and Dobson have raised more money than candidates for any other Alabama congressional election contests.
AL.com called this race “a rare competitive general election contest in Alabama for a seat in Congress.”
The candidates
According to AL.com, this is the first time both candidates running a general election contest for a congressional seat in Alabama were both under the age of 40. One of them will be the first Millennial to represent Alabama in the U.S. House.
Shomari Figures graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law. He’s spent many years in various roles in Washington, D.C., including serving on the Biden-Harris transition team in 2020. He also served in various Department of Justice roles, including as deputy chief of staff and counselor to the Attorney General Merrick Garland, White House Liaison, and a Counsel in Congress.
Figures’ mother and father both served as state Senators. Individual donors have contributed the majority of Figures’ campaign dollars.
AL.com reports that GOP candidate Caroleene Dobson got her law degree from Baylor University Law School after undergrad at Harvard. Today she is a real estate attorney for Maynard Nexsen in Birmingham. Prior to that role, she practiced law in San Antonio, Texas.
AL.com described Dobson as “a fifth-generation farm [sic] who grew up on a cattle farm in rural Monroe County.” It described a campaign heavy with rural imagery of Dobson riding horseback. But the coverage of her wedding to Robert Armstrong Dobson in the New York Times society pages describes it slightly differently. “Her mother retired as a physical therapist in Camden, Ala. Her father is an orthodontist in Andalusia, Ala., and several other cities, and is a cattle rancher.” The two met a fundraiser for Artpace San Antonio, having been seated at the same table.
Dobson is an active member of the Birmingham chapter of the Federalist Society. The organization criticized her primary opponent, former Sen. Dick Brewbaker, for criticizing Trump and breaking with his policies. Dobson advocated strongly for former President Donald Trump’s candidacy and rhetoric during her primary campaign. Dobson emphasized her plans to expand access to guns, further restrict access to reproductive healthcare, and reduce immigration.
“It is time to give Washington, D.C. a good dose of Alabama common sense and go to battle against those on the far left who want to control how we use our property and what we do, think, and say,” Dobson said in her candidacy announcement. She also promised to “fight… for our faith” and “preserve the moral backbone” of our nation.
Click here to phone bank for Shomari Figures, and help keep a Trump and Federalist Society candidate out of the US House.