MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Democratic congressional candidate Shomari Figures recently scored the endorsement from the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund in his bid for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District.
The district was redrawn last year after a federal court found that the congressional map adopted by lawmakers in 2021 likely violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act by including a disproportionate number of Black Alabamians into one district, District 7, thereby diluting their voting power.
The SPLC and other progressive groups have pursued such a change in Alabama’s congressional map for more than a decade. The groups also announced a simultaneous endorsement of Cleo Fields, a Democratic congressional candidate running in Louisiana, also in a newly redrawn district.
“After years of advocacy and recent rulings affirming the right to fair representation in government, Black voters have the opportunity to show their political power and elect candidates who will best represent them in the halls of Congress,” said Madison Hollon, program manager of political campaigns for the SPLC Action Fund, in a statement. “We are proud to endorse Shomari Figures in AL-02 and Cleo Fields in LA-06 to make history and usher in a new era of leadership in the Deep South.”
Figures is running against Republican Caroleene Dobson, whose endorsements to date include Gov. Kay Ivey, Alabama Farmers Federation and the National Federation of Independent Business.
Founded in 1971, the Montgomery based nonprofit organization has raised hundreds of millions of dollars toward its litigation and lobbying efforts, ending fiscal year 2021 with a revenue of $133 million, and assets worth $801 million. As of July, the SPLC has expended roughly $2.6 million toward lobbying efforts, according to Open Secrets.
Much like Alabama, Louisiana’s congressional district map was also recently redrawn, and also like Alabama, it was redrawn to give Black voters a second majority-Black district, allowing for a more proportionate number of Black voters in the state to have the opportunity to elect their preferred candidate.
However, political experts believe Republicans still hold a fighting chance to retain Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, likely leading to Figures being required to win over undecided voters to claim victory.
The general election will be held Nov. 5. The voter registration deadline to participate is Oct. 21, and the last day to apply for an absentee ballot by mail, Oct. 29, and in person, Oct. 31.