AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Alabama’s congressional primary runoffs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Voters in a new Alabama congressional district at the center of an ongoing legal and political dispute will return to the polls Tuesday to select the nominees in a U.S. House contest that could help decide control of the narrowly divided chamber this November.

Shomari Figures, a former top aide to Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Anthony Daniels, the state House Minority Leader, will compete for the Democratic nomination in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District after neither candidate received the vote majority needed in the March 5 primary to avoid Tuesday’s runoff. Former state Sen. Dick Brewbaker and attorney Caroleene Dobson will compete in the Republican runoff. The winners will face off in the November general election.

A federal court adopted new boundaries for the 2nd District last year following a lawsuit that alleged the state’s congressional districts were “racially gerrymandered” to limit the influence of the state’s Black voters. Alabama has a Black population of about 27%, but the lawsuit claimed the old map illegally concentrated them in one congressional district to limit their political power, a practice known as “packing.” The case went to the Supreme Court, which affirmed the lower court’s ruling requiring the state legislature to create a second district with a sizable share of Black voters.

The court-ordered map will be in place for the 2024 election, although Republican state Attorney General Steve Marshall said his office will go back to court to restore the original boundaries for future elections. Under the old plan, Republicans enjoyed lopsided electoral advantages in six of the state’s seven U.S. House districts.