Shomari Figures Becomes 4th Black Alabama Representative Since Reconstruction

Joining Figures in the House as Alabama Representatives is Democrat Terri Sewell, giving Alabama two Black representatives for the first time in its history

Shomari Figures, an ex-Obama and Biden administration aide in the Justice Department, won his race for Alabama’s Second District seat on Nov. 5, becoming only the fourth Black representative from Alabama since Reconstruction.

According to Al.com, Figures won 54% of the votes to Republican Caroleene Dobson’s 45% as of 10:30 p.m. on Nov 5, which led his opponent to concede the race.

At 11:00 p.m., The Associated Press called Figures the official winner of the election.

District 2 was ordered to be redrawn after the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision determined that the district’s current layout potentially violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, resulting in a map that was not conducive to the will of Black voters.

Joining Figures in the House as Alabama Representatives is Democrat Terri Sewell, whose 7th District win gives Alabama two Black representatives for the first time in its history.

In his victory address to his supporters, Figures reflected on his family’s political history and the strength of his mother and thanked his opponent for running a strong, competitive race.

“This journey that we are on now, this is the beginning of the work,” Figures said. “Today is great. We are grateful that we have the opportunity to sit here today and be elected and be put into a position to go do the work. But now we got to do the work.”

Figures continued, thanking his mother, longtime Alabama State Sen. Vivian Figures, “We wouldn’t be here without you,” Figures told his mother. “There is no way we would be here without you and no way I’ll continue this speech without you here on this stage. We made no secret of the fact that a large reason we were able to get into this race and think we would be competitive is (because of) the legacy laid down before I was even born.”

Figures concluded his discussion of his family’s political legacy, “My father died in ‘96, and my mother did more than just keep that legacy going. She raised three of us, as we came of age, and we were 14 and 11 and 7 at the time my father died. She kept it going in more ways than one.”

Figures’ father was Michael Figures, the first Black person to serve as president pro tem of the Alabama State Senate.

His son, Shomari, became the first Black representative from Mobile in the state’s history, which the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Suzan DelBene, alluded to in a statement released following Figures’ win.

“Tonight, the voters of Alabama’s newly redrawn Second Congressional District elected Shomari Figures to usher a new era of representation from Mobile to Montgomery. In Congress, Shomari will champion the issues that matter most to everyday Alabamians like making life more affordable, preventing gun violence, and expanding access to rural healthcare,” DelBene explained. “I look forward to working with Shomari to push back against Republican extremism and get big things done for the American people.”

Figures also discussed what he would like to see Alabama accomplish in the area of rural healthcare.

“I spent a lot of time on the campaign (talking about) healthcare access. We literally live the shortest lives than any other state in the United States of America with the exception of two states, and I know we can all guess one. Mississippi and West Virginia and they have us beat by only a few weeks. We can fix that by expanding Medicaid in Alabama.”