He's fighting for the district he lost, not the one he's running in
The only reason Mobile was ever in District 2 is the court-drawn map that created the seat in 2023 — and Figures, a son of Mobile, moved back home to run for it. On June 2 the Supreme Court let Alabama use a different map, and the new District 2 takes Mobile out, running instead through the Wiregrass and the southeast corner of the state, better than 200 miles from the coast. Figures has answered not by introducing himself to the Wiregrass but by attacking the map as a rollback of the Voting Rights Act and vowing to stay in. He is campaigning for the district he lost, not the one he is running in — and a district deserves a representative who lives in it and fights for it.
Why Figures is beatable now
With Mobile out, the district's Black voting-age population falls from 48.7 percent to 39.9 percent and the seat absorbs more of the Republican-leaning Wiregrass. The court-drawn district that delivered his 2024 win is gone, and with it the advantage that put him in the seat.
One vote that tells the story
On H.R. 28, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, Figures voted no — siding with his national party against a position with broad support across the Republican-leaning district he now must defend. His own office confirmed and defended the vote.
The challenger field
Six Republicans qualified for the August 11 winner-take-all special primary: Hampton Harris, State Rep. Rhett Marques, Christian Horn, David Matthews, Joshua McKee, and James Richardson. We take no side among them — whoever wins carries the fight to Figures in November.
Key dates
August 11 — AL-02 special primary, winner-take-all with no runoff. November 3 — general election.
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