WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures and State Rep. Rhett Marques are in a statistical tie in the race for Alabama’s newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District, according to new polling from the House Democratic campaign arm.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is backing the Mobile Democrat, released an internal poll finding Figures and Marques tied at 46%. Eight percent of respondents are undecided.
The poll surveyed 421 likely general election voters in the district July 29-30 before Marques officially won the GOP nomination on Tuesday, securing 50% of the special primary vote and defeating five other candidates. The poll had an R+9 party identification edge, according to the DCCC.
The margin of error is +/- 4.8% at a 95% confidence interval. The DCCC did not elaborate further on the demographics of the surveyed voters.
“Multiple public polls make it clear: this is a toss up race, plain and simple,” DCCC Spokesperson Eli Cousin said in a statement. “While Shomari Figures shows up and delivers for the people of Alabama, his opponent Rhett Marques has been supporting tax increases and policies that raise prices on working people. That clear contrast is why Congressman Figures is drawing support from both Republicans and Democrats in every corner of Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District as he builds the coalition needed to win in November.”
In response, a spokesperson for the Enterprise Republican’s campaign told Alabama Daily News that the “national Democratic establishment is going to pull out every trick in the book to flood Alabama’s Second Congressional District with left-wing money from California and New York.”
“At the end of the day, Rhett said it best: this race is a contest between common sense and craziness. Rhett is the only candidate who lives in and shares the values of this district. The DCCC can publish as many push polls as they want — hardworking families in AL-02 will choose Alabama common sense over Democrats’ radical nonsense of defunding the police, putting boys in girls’ locker rooms, and funneling taxpayer dollars to illegal aliens.”
Both national Democrats and Republicans are focused on winning the 2nd District race, which could prove critical to which party controls Congress next year.
The Cook Political Report rates the reconfigured district as likely Republican. The rating of R+7 for the 2nd District means its two-party vote share was 7 points more Republican in the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections than the country as a whole.
But Democrats are hoping backlash to Republican-led redistricting efforts will help increase voter turnout in November.
Figures will likely have to pull significant support from Black voters in the Montgomery area and flip some President Donald Trump voters. The Alabama Democrat is also hoping to stand on his record in Congress and the fact that more than half of his current district is still within the new boundary lines. Black voters make up about 40% of the new district.
The new 2nd District stretches from the Wiregrass to Montgomery and west to Butler and Lowndes counties.
Marques has relied on endorsements from Trump and U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., as well as his time in the Alabama Legislature, where he said he’s focused on cutting taxes, to propel his campaign.
As of July 22, Figures, who did not have a primary opponent, had raised about $1.35 million and Marques raised about $1.32 million. The congressman had $663,000 on hand as of July 22 while Marques had $188,000.
The general election is Nov. 3.