State Rep. Rhett Marques won the Republican nomination Tuesday for Alabama’s newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District and is set for a matchup against U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures in November as both parties plan to target the reconfigured seat this year.
The Enterprise Republican secured 50% of the special primary vote, according to Alabama’s unofficial election results Tuesday night. Marques defeated five opponents. Real estate broker and lawyer Hampton Harris came in second, followed by David Matthews, Joshua McKee, James Richardson and Christian Horn.
Figures was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Alabama implemented its Legislature-drawn congressional map this year after the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act. Republicans hope to flip the new 2nd District seat red since President Donald Trump would have won the district by 14 points in 2024.
“The stakes in November could not be higher,” Marques, the Trump-endorsed nominee, posted on social media after his win. “If you want more money in your pockets, safe streets for your kids to play on, strong communities, and our Christian values to be preserved for our kids and their kids, I’d be proud to earn your vote.”
Despite the new district lines favoring Republicans, Figures maintains that it’s possible to keep the seat blue. Throughout the campaign, he plans to rely on his record in his first term in Congress and the fact that a large swath of his current district is also within the new boundary lines.
“We’ve been going to work on behalf of this district for a very long time, every single day that we’ve been in this office,” Figures told Alabama Daily News last month. “And we take that message to people to let them know that one thing that you can trust in me representing them in D.C. is not that I’m going to do whatever the party says, not that I’m going to do whatever one man says, but that we’re going to do what’s best and what is needed in local communities, both urban and rural, in this district.”
The Republicans’ House campaign arm immediately attacked Figures after Marques’ win, highlighting the upcoming intense fight for control of the seat.
“Out of touch Shomari Figures has been a disaster in Congress, siding with the extreme Democrat party to push their high-cost, open-border, far-left agenda,” the National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson said in a statement. “In Congress, Rhett will show up for Alabamians by helping the President deliver a strong economy, maintain secure borders, and keep men out of women’s and girls’ sports.”
But national Democrats also plan to invest heavily in the race as they hope to keep the seat blue. Democrats hope anger around the Republican-led redistricting efforts will boost Figures and other Southern Democrats in November.
“While Shomari shows up and puts in the work, his opponent Rhett Marques sells out to the ultra-wealthy who fund his political campaigns,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene said in a statement. “This race will be a choice between a true public servant and a backbench extremist whose only impact has been voting for tax hike after tax hike on the hardworking people of Alabama.”
The new 2nd District encompasses the Wiregrass, up into Montgomery and west to Lowndes County. It is about 40% Black, while the current district is nearly 49% Black.
The general election is Nov. 3.