At least two Democrats in the Alabama Legislature said this week they will run for Congress in southern Alabama’s significantly altered District 2. More candidate announcements are imminent.
“After much thought and a rewarding 13 years in the Alabama Legislature, I am proud to announce that we are taking this thing to Congress,” state Rep. Napoleon Bracy, D-Mobile, said in a written statement on Monday.
And Sen. Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery, is preparing to launch his bid, he told Alabama Political Reporter.
“The only reason I have any apprehension is because of the positions I currently find myself, and the opportunities that they have presented me in serving people and making a difference for the community that is important to me,” Hatcher told the outlet. “But I am prepared to take on this challenge. I’d never commit to do it without the willingness to complete the task.”
As of Monday, no candidates have qualified with state qualified for the district that’s been solidly red but was redrawn, under court order, to be more favorable to Democrats. The qualifying deadline for both parties is Nov. 10.
Inside Alabama Politics last week reported on some of the possible congressional contenders in the newly altered district, including Bracy, Hatcher and Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed, a Democrat. There are also a few from outside of it, including House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, who is originally from Bullock County; Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham; and Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore.
A spokesman for Reed on Monday declined to comment on the mayor’s plans.
Both State Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, and her son Shomari Figures have been floated as candidates, as has former Republican state Sen. Dick Brewbaker of Pike Road.
Congressional District 2 now has a Black voter population of nearly 49%, a court-mandated change after previous maps drawn by the Republican led Legislature were ruled to likely be in violation of the Voting Rights Act. The new map gives Black voters a better chance of electing the candidate of their choice in two of seven congressional districts.
The new 12-county congressional District 2 stretches across the state from Washington County on the Mississippi side to Russell and Barbour counties on the Georgia side. It now includes all of Montgomery County to the north and a northwest portion of Mobile County.