Democratic U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures won reelection Tuesday night in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, which Republicans redrew to their advantage this year.
Figures’ win in a district that President Donald Trump would have won by 14 points highlights voters’ dissatisfaction with the economy and anger over the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. He defeated State Rep. Rhett Marques, R-Enterprise.
In the tight contest, Figures earned 53.8% of the vote compared to Marques’ 46.2%, according to the Associated Press, with 91% of votes counted Tuesday night.
Marques conceded the race, calling Figures and saying he would pray for the congressman as he enters his second term in Congress.
“This isn’t obviously what we wanted, but we were going to keep our heads up high,” Marques said at a watch party in Enterprise. “The country is making a change, and we need to pray for it. The mission remains the same: to save our country for generations to come.”
After the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, the Legislature implemented its 2023 congressional map over the summer, which reshaped the 2nd District to be more friendly to Republicans. It reduced the district’s Black population from nearly 49% to 40%.
At the time of redistricting, Figures was seen as an underdog, even as the incumbent, because the district now includes more deep-red counties in the Wiregrass. But Figures tapped into voters’ concerns about the cost of living and motivated voters to turn out to the polls in the wake of redistricting efforts.
National Democrats also helped bolster his campaign, spending millions on advertising, as the party looked to keep the seat blue this year.
Marques, a small business owner, easily won the GOP nomination for the newly redrawn district during the special primary.
Figures’ win will keep Alabama’s congressional delegation with two Black representatives. U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, also won reelection in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District. The delegation’s party makeup will remain 5-2 next year.
On the campaign trail, Figures leaned into an economic pitch, arguing that “it doesn’t matter what your district lines look like when people are paying $4 a gallon for gas” and attacked the tariffs, especially their impacts on farmers in the rural district.
On the Republican side, Marques’ campaign message centered the contest as a national fight against the “far left” and socialism.
This story will be updated.