MONTGOMERY, Ala. — As the April 16 primary election runoff draws closer, the two remaining Democratic candidates vying to represent Alabama’s newly-drawn 2nd Congressional District have both leaned heavily into their different career paths and experience in their final pitch to Democratic voters.
Anthony Daniels, Alabama House minority leader and state representative from Huntsville, will face off next week against Shomari Figures, whose career in government spans from working under two U.S. attorney generals, to acting as legislative counsel for Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-OH.
In the March 5 primary election, Figures received 43.5% of the vote, and Daniels, 22.4%, sending them both off to compete once more in the upcoming runoff.
When it came to Daniels’ pitch to voters, he’s led with his work in the legislature; things like securing a tax cut for overtime pay, and fighting to protect reproductive rights related to in vitro fertilization. That experience, Daniels argued, made him far better suited to represent District 2.
“There’s a difference between working for a politician and actually being one; they’re different dynamics,” Daniels told Alabama Daily News.
“It’s easy to say ‘I worked for this person, I worked for that person,’ but it is not easy to say that I’ve gotten these things done, and so the deliverables are what works. Name dropping and running on someone else’s strength, or running on what your family members have done is not a qualification for a job.”
Both of Figures’ parents – the late Michael Figures, former member of the Alabama Senate, and Vivian Figures, current member of the Alabama Senate – have been featured prominently in his campaign ads. However, Figures has argued that his experience in Washington stands on its own, and actually better equips him with the experience necessary to represent District 2.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work for a president at the White House, for two different attorney generals, and also most relevant to this election, I’ve had the privilege to serve as a lawyer in Congress for several years, and so I know how federal government works in a way that my opponent simply does not,” Figures told ADN.
“Alabama is not Washington, Montgomery is not Washington, D.C., it’s an entirely different creature. What puts us in the best position in this district is having someone who knows how to navigate not just the halls of Congress, but knows how to navigate the entirety of federal government, to leverage it to the benefit of the communities across District 2.”
On policy, both candidates share similar legislative priorities; expanding access to health care and child care, and improving education, to name a few.
Daniels, for instance, told ADN that if elected, he’d advocate to increase the federal match for states that expand Medicaid to 100%, offering an even stronger incentive for Alabama to expand its own Medicaid program.
“Mental health is a priority to me, maternal health is a priority of mine, reproductive rights (are too), just like I’ve advocated for around IVF of pushing back on the Alabama Supreme Court decision, which forced the other side into actually making a decision and doing something about it,” Daniels said.
“There are health care deserts all throughout District 2, and I want to make certain that with all of those challenges, that there’s a collaboration across the district from the health care standpoint. (We could work with the) University of South Alabama, and maybe even bring in other institutions to help support the lack of health care infrastructure that exists in the region, especially some of our rural communities.”
Were he elected, Daniels said he would also push for the creation of a universal pre-k program in District 2 through a public-private partnership model, as well as advocate for increased investments into Alabama’s military bases.
Figures, when asked what some of his legislative priorities might be were he elected to office, also spoke to expanding health care access, but also spoke at length about improving education, particularly in the area of reading.
“Alabama has the sixth-worst literacy rate; that means our kids can barely read compared to their peers,” Figures said.
“So for me, that looks like bringing more resources here to fund programs that can actually help get our kids to reading at grade level earlier in life as to better situate them to take advantage of education and future employment (opportunities).”
On improving education, Figures also said he’d advocate for a federal grant program to ensure all Alabama teachers and school staff are afforded paid parental leave, as well as push for more federal dollars to be used to help modernize public schools, particularly in the state’s rural areas.
The core of the two candidates’ differences though, which has largely been represented in their campaign material and messaging, was their experience, a topic that both Daniels and Figures spoke to at length.
Beyond his experience as a lawmaker and leader in the Alabama Legislature, Daniels also touted his career as a teacher, as well as his own experience in Washington, D.C. working on expanding college debt forgiveness programs.
“Qualifications for this job are having demonstrated your ability to get things done in various challenging situations, as I’ve done my entire career; I’ve been in D.C. and worked alongside Sen. Ted Kennedy and others on the College Cost Reduction Act, and so from a federal level, I understand how to get things done,” Daniels said.
On Daniels’ record, Figures actually commended the work Daniels had done for the state, but argued that the seat representing District 2 requires different experience.
“Mr. Daniels has done some good work here in the state of Alabama, and I think there is more work that can certainly be done, but at the end of the day, Montgomery is not Washington, and we need someone that can hit the ground running on day one,” Figures said.
Perhaps the most debated topic between the two candidates has been on the issue of residency.
Representing Huntsville, Daniels’ main residence is nearly 200 miles from District 2. Given his time representing Huntsville in the Alabama Legislature, however, Daniels has noted that he spends more time within the district than outside it.
Conversely, Figures does live within the district in Mobile, but had spent the last several years living and working in Washington, D.C. Figures was born and raised within the district, however, having spent the majority of his life there.
Both candidates have launched attacks at the other regarding residency. Daniels has highlighted that in recent years, Figures has only lived in the state since last October. In doing so, Figures lacks the relationships with local leaders, Daniels argued, who leaned heavily into the relationships he’s built over the years.
“The people in the 2nd Congressional District have a clear choice; elect someone that we’ve seen get things done in difficult situations, or send someone up there that has no clue and no relationships in state and local government to drive collaboration on behalf of the citizens in the 2nd Congressional District,” Daniels said.
“Part of your responsibility as a member (of Congress) is to stay connected to agency heads. In fact, I have personal relationships with agency heads (and) with federal agency heads, so I wouldn’t have to start building those relationships.”
While not contesting the fact that he had spent the last several years out of state, Figures argued that his willingness to step away from his career in Washington and move to the district was more of an asset than a liability in the eyes of voters.
“I think we’re uniquely situated in this in that I was born in this district, raised in this district, (and am) living among the people that we’re asking to actually vote for us, showing them that you’re willing to sacrifice your career path because you believe you have something to offer that can benefit this district as a whole,” Figures said.
“For me, what that looked like was stepping away from a career in federal government service. I think that resonates with people here when they see you’re willing to put it all on the line for the possibility of representing them, I feel that they are more likely to show up for you the way they did for us on March 5.”
As of March 27, Daniels has outraised Figures by nearly $100,000, receiving $457,306 in campaign contributions to Figures’ $361,998. Daniels’ campaign has $40,756 cash on hand, and Figures’ campaign, $48,662.