Alabama congressional district redrawn to better represent Black voters sparks competitive race

TUSKEGEE, Ala. (AP) — On opposite sides of the courthouse square in Tuskegee, Alabama — a place steeped in African American history, including the city’s namesake university and World War II airmen — two opposing congressional candidates recently greeted families gathered at a county festival.

Democrat Shomari Figures, who worked in the Obama White House and as a former top aide to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, is trying to flip the seat, which was redrawn after a lengthy redistricting battle. Republican Caroleene Dobson, a real estate attorney and political newcomer, is attempting to keep the seat in GOP hands.

Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District was redrawn after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed Alabama had likely illegally diluted the influence of Black voters when drawing congressional lines. A three-judge panel reshaped the district, which now includes places like Tuskegee, to give Black voters an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choosing.

The open seat has sparked a heated race for the district — which now leans Democratic, but that Republicans maintain is winnable — that could help decide control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Black residents now make up nearly 49% of the district’s voting-age population, up from about 30% when the district was reliably Republican. The non-partisan Cook Political Report ranks the district as “likely Democrat.”

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