MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Shomari Figures, the Democratic candidate for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, raised $478,379 in campaign contributions during the second quarter of 2024, bringing his total amount raised this election cycle to $868,772, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Figures’ campaign had $301,948 in cash on hand as of the end of June, and had spent $248,258 during the second quarter of 2024, and $584,224 in total. By comparison, Republican Caroleene Dobson had $471,813 in cash on hand, had spent $542,988 during the second quarter, and spent $1.73 million in total.
By far the most contested congressional race in Alabama this election, District 2 has been represented by a Republican since 1965, save for a single term from former Democratic Rep. Bobby Bright from 2009 to 2011.
The district was redrawn last year, however, to create a second district in the state where Black voters have an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice. While election data suggests the district leans Democratic now, political science experts suggest the district is still very much in play, leading to the campaign hauls of both Figures and Dobson surpassing any other congressional election contests in the state.
As of June 30, Dobson had outspent Figures by a ratio of nearly 3 to 1; $1.73 million to Figures’ $584,224.
As far as campaign contributions, Figures has out-raised Dobson by a small margin since the start of the campaign, raising a total of $868,772 to Dobson’s $797,190. The momentum, however, is with Dobson’s campaign, who outraised Figures in the second quarter, raising $557,488 to Figures’ $478,379.
In late December, Figures had loaned his own campaign $25,000, whereas Dobson has loaned her campaign to date a total of nearly $1.4 million.
Of Figures’ campaign contributions, a majority came from individual donors, making up 72.5% of his total haul of $868,772, and 53.8% of his $478,379 in contributions during the second quarter.
Among his largest contributions from individuals include a $2,500 contribution from U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-LA, a $2,000 contribution from a Mobile-based attorney and $1,000 from a Georgia retiree.
Figures did not receive any contributions from political party committees, but did receive a sizable share of his campaign fundraising haul from various political action committees. To date, his campaign has received $235,650 from PACs, $194,850 of which were received during the second quarter.
PAC To The Future, a Washington, D.C.-based PAC established by U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, donated $5,000 to Figures’ campaign on June 28. The American Association for Justice PAC, another D.C.-based PAC that supports “pro-civil-justice candidates,” contributed $3,500 to Figures’ campaign.
Other notable PAC supporters of Figures’ campaign include the DRIVE Committee, a PAC established in 1960 by the Teamsters Union that contributed $5,000, and the American Defense and Military PAC, based in Seattle, Washington, that contributed $1,000.