MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Shomari Figures, the Democratic candidate for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, is confident that Vice President Kamala Harris leading the Democratic ticket will help him win in November.
Republican Caroleene Dobson disagrees, saying the Harris-Walz ticket could bring moderate Democrats uncomfortable with progressive policies to her camp.
“I think having a Black person on the ticket certainly helps energize people, especially in this district,” Figures said in a recent interview on the podcast Alabama Politics This Week.
“I think having a woman at the top of the ticket certainly helps energize people in this district. I think having a (historically Black college and university) graduate at the top of the ticket helps, especially in this district.”
Harris’ path to becoming the Democratic presidential nominee was swift and sudden, and began with President Joe Biden’s July 21 announcement that he would bow out of the race after a poor debate performance and other stumbles made Democrats concerned Biden couldn’t stand a chance against former President Donald Trump in November.
Figures said that the swap will likely help his chances in November given the racial makeup of District 2, which has a Black-voting-age population of 49%, and a white-voting-age population of 44%.
“I think you put all of that in a bowl and you mix it up with her experience and her qualifications, – and some would say her youthfulness, comparatively speaking – I think brings a lot of value to the top of the ticket and something that will certainly help encourage more people to get out and vote.”
Figures’ opponent, Republican Caroleene Dobson, told ADN Monday that she didn’t believe Harris leading the ticket would have much of an impact on the race for District 2 and, if anything, may help her prospects.
“Maybe if the replacement Democrat nominee was someone totally different that represented different policies, but here you have someone in (Harris) that is really doubling down on the failed policies of the Biden administration,” Dobson said.
“If it impacts the race, I think it allows the opportunity for me to pick up more Democrats because the party has gone so far left of center.”
According to analysis from the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, District 2 now favors a Democratic candidate after having been redrawn last year by a federal court to increase its Black population. But Figures said the race is still very much in play, something political science experts have largely agreed on.
“I’ve been telling people across the district that this is not just a coronation,” Figures said.
A recent poll published in late July by the Alabama Families Political Action Committee, a group supporting Dobson in the race, showed Figures with a slight lead, with 37% of those surveyed favoring him to Dobson’s 33.9%.
The poll also showed that among those surveyed, 38.9% said they had a favorable or very favorable opinion of Figures compared to Dobson’s 28.7%. However, 29% of those surveyed indicated they were still undecided, a sizable margin that could deliver either candidate a victory.
As of June 30, Dobson has raised nearly $800,000 in campaign contributions, and loaned her own campaign nearly $1.4 million. Comparatively, Figures has raised nearly $870,000 in campaign contributions, and loaned his own campaign $25,000.