Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Washington is paying for a candidate who can't find the district

Here is the picture in one frame. Shomari Figures is running to represent the Wiregrass — Dothan, Enterprise, the farms and small towns of southeast Alabama — a district more than 200 miles from the Mobile he calls home, drawn by the map he has spent the last week attacking rather than learning. And who is financing that campaign? Washington.

Figures is a hand-picked project of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — the national party's House campaign arm in Washington, D.C. The DCCC placed him in its "Red to Blue" program, which by the committee's own description means money, fundraising muscle, paid staff, and strategic direction piped in from the capital. Its chair, a congresswoman from Washington State, calls flipping District 2 part of the plan to "take back the House majority." And in the 48 hours after the Supreme Court upheld Alabama's map on June 2, the DCCC bragged about raising roughly half a million dollars off the ruling — cash aimed squarely at keeping seats like this one blue.

So here is the zinger, and it is just the facts stacked end to end: Shomari Figures couldn't find half the towns in this district on a map — but his backers in Washington can find it just fine on a spreadsheet, and they are spending whatever it takes to keep it blue. The Wiregrass deserves a representative who answers to the Wiregrass — not one whose paycheck, playbook, and marching orders come from a committee 900 miles up I-65 in D.C.

Why Figures is beatable now

The numbers under the restored map are not close. 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 Figures his 2024 win is gone, and with it the structural advantage that put him in the seat. National money can buy a lot of ads; it cannot redraw the district back the way he wants it.

How Figures voted this week

Against the President on Iran. On June 3, Figures voted with every House Democrat — against all but four Republicans — for a resolution to limit President Trump's authority as Commander-in-Chief in the middle of the Iran conflict (H.Con.Res. 86, passed 215–208). The White House formally opposed the measure, and Trump called it a vote to "limit my War Powers, right in the middle of my final negotiations."

Against the child-care fraud accountability bill. Also on June 3, Figures voted no on H.R. 7726, the No Funds for Repeat Child Care Violations Act, which passed the House 217–207 with every Alabama Republican voting yes. The bill makes a single change to federal law — it requires, rather than merely allows, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to withhold child-care funds from states that repeatedly misuse them or make improper payments. Democrats argued the mandatory cutoff could penalize states for paperwork mistakes; supporters called it basic accountability for taxpayer dollars. Figures sided with his party against it.

Against the Republican agriculture funding bill. The next day, June 4, he voted no on H.R. 8646, the Republican bill funding the U.S. Department of Agriculture, rural development programs, and the FDA (passed 213–210) — in a district built on farming and rural communities. The through-line across the week is consistent: when the choice comes down to his district or his national party, the votes go Washington's way.

Question of the Week

Washington recruited him, Washington funds his campaign, and his recent votes followed Washington. So who will Shomari Figures be working for — the families of the Wiregrass, or the national party that bought his ticket?

The challenger field

Six Republicans qualified for the August 11 special primary: Hampton Harris, State Rep. Rhett Marques, Christian Horn, David Matthews, Joshua McKee, and James Richardson. It is winner-take-all with no runoff. We take no side among them — whoever wins on August 11 carries the fight to Figures in November.

Momentum — the list is growing

The case keeps landing. The active list has grown past 60 — 66 supporters and counting, with the newest sign-up logged this morning. Every name at take2back.com is one more voter who sees the contrast between a district and the Washington money trying to hold it. Read the full case, sign up, and send the link to friends and family across the district: take2back.com.

Key dates

August 11 — AL-02 special primary (winner-take-all, no runoff). November 3 — general election.

Sources and disclosure

Paid for by Strategic Resource Group, L.L.C., 556 Clay St, Montgomery, AL 36104. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.