WASHINGTON — Voters in Alabama’s newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District have been inundated with campaign ads as the general election nears on Tuesday.
More than $11 million has been spent on advertising in Alabama’s most competitive congressional district race since the special primary, which has now topped spending in the gubernatorial race, according to AdImpact data as of Wednesday.
Democratic groups supporting the incumbent, U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, have outpaced Republican spending in the race. They have poured in $7.1 million during the general election season to support Figures’ campaign in a district redrawn this year to favor Republicans.
Groups propping up the Republican nominee, State Rep. Rhett Marques of Enterprise, who easily won the GOP nomination in August, have spent about $4.1 million on campaign advertising since the special primary.
On Tuesday, a nonpartisan political forecaster shifted the race in Democrats’ favor, moving the race to the “toss-up” category from “leans Republican.” The Cook Political Report recently shifted it to “lean Republican” from “likely Republican.”
Who’s behind the money?
The largest single spender in the 2nd District contest is a President Donald Trump-aligned super PAC, No Going Back, which has invested about $2.7 million. That includes four active broadcast and streaming spots and two digital ads, according to AdImpact.
The group’s newest 30-second ad contrasts with Figures’ recent “six-seven” ad that attacked Marques over taxes. The ad ties Figures to national Democrats like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
“Here’s a number Shomari’s hiding. 95 (%),” the ad states. “That’s how often Shomari Figures voted with radical Democrats like Nancy Pelosi.”
Figures’ campaign released the “six-seven” ad last week, calling out Marques for voting to raise the gas tax through the Rebuild Alabama Act in 2019, which raised it by 10 cents over three years.
“How high did Rhett Marques raise the gas tax? Six-seven …. Rhett Marques voted to raise the gas tax by 67%,” the ad states.
“We took it upon ourselves to make sure that we took care of our families, protected our children who couldn’t even pass some of the bridges over school buses that were having to go out of the way,” Marques told Alabama Daily News last week, explaining his vote. “It was a safety issue.”
On the Democratic side, most of the spending to boost Figures is spread across three main groups.
The largest investment comes from the House Democrats’ campaign arm in coordination with Figures’ campaign, which have spent about $2.2 million during the general election season. They are running five active broadcast and streaming ads on the airwaves in the district, according to AdImpact.
One of the newest entrants to the race is the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, which started spending for Figures last week. The group has spent about $1.8 million on advertising since last Saturday.
The organization is dedicated to supporting Democrats who “stand with Israel” and “recognize the U.S.-Israel relationship as a vital national security partnership,” according to its website.
The group is airing two broadcast ads, one attacking Marques over his votes on taxes in the Legislature. The 30-second spot is running in all three of the district’s main media markets, according to AdImpact.
“Rhett Marques voted to raise our taxes 22 times,” the ad states. “His excuse? ‘These people do not understand how local bills work.’ These people, he means us.”
The second spot, running in Montgomery, attacks the Enterprise Republican for his support of Alabama’s CHOOSE Act, the state’s education savings account program, which passed in 2024.
Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, has a PAC, named Ready for the Fight, that’s also spent about $1.8 million on advertising to help Figures’ campaign, according to AdImpact.
Conservatives for American Excellence, a GOP-aligned super PAC, launched an anti-Figures broadcast ad Wednesday. It’s running in Montgomery and Dothan, attacking the congressman over illegal immigration. The ad’s narrator calls him “radical, liberal Shomari Figures” who is “too extreme for Alabama.”
A super PAC, Alabama Christian Conservatives, aligned with Marques, has spent about $676,000 on the Republican nominee since the special primary. The group is the second-biggest GOP spender in the race. Marques’ campaign has spent about $425,000 on advertising.
AdImpact data shows Alabama Christian Conservatives has aired three broadcast ads, including a new one that began airing Wednesday.
“Out-of-state radicals are falsely attacking Rhett Marques because they can’t stand America. The choice comes down to two things: craziness versus common sense,” the new ad from the group states, which has become a common tagline for Marques on the campaign trail.
On Wednesday, Figures’ campaign released a new direct-to-camera broadcast ad, in which the congressman says he doesn’t support two frequent Republican attack lines on Democrats: transgender athletes competing in women’s sports and gender-affirming care for minors. Marques frequently attacks Figures on those two issues while campaigning.
“Here’s the truth, I voted against biological men playing in women’s sports because I don’t support it,” Figures says in the ad. “Same with surgeries for minors; never have supported it and never will.”
Most recently, Figures voted in favor of an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would prohibit transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports at Department of Defense schools. On another amendment, Figures also voted to prohibit TRICARE from covering gender-affirming medical care.
He voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act last January, which would bar schools that receive federal funding from allowing transgender athletes to participate in women’s sports. But in a statement at the time, Figures said he does “not believe that biological males should be allowed to compete against biological females in sports.”
“I do not believe Congress should pass a law with no parameters or safeguards to prevent states from authorizing people to perform unwanted sex checks on young girls and women,” Figures said last January. “If Republicans adequately fix that issue, they should bring it back to the table.”
In December last year, Figures voted against the Protect Children’s Innocence Act, which would criminalize doctors who performed gender affirming medical care on minors.
Where is the money being spent?
Montgomery-area voters are seeing the most ads in the 2nd Congressional District race, with about $5.3 million of the total general election money spent in the market. Democratic-aligned groups have spent about $3 million in the capital city while Republicans have spent $2.3 million, according to AdImpact.
No Going Back PAC is the top spender in Montgomery with about $1.4 million, according to AdImpact, followed by Ready for the Fight PAC with $1.1 million.
Montgomery represents the main Democratic base in the new 2nd District, while the Wiregrass is Republican territory. Both campaigns recognize that voter turnout in Montgomery could be a key determinant of who wins the race on Tuesday.
Democrats hold a spending advantage in each of the three main markets.
In Dothan, about $3 million has been spent on campaign advertising during the general election season and in the Columbus market, $2.2 million.
Taxes are by far the most frequent topic across all of the race’s ads, with multiple ads attacking or touting each candidate’s record.
Polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.