Anthony Daniels, Shomari Figures to square off for Dem-favored congressional seat

On Tuesday night, Democratic Party voters went to the polls to select their nominee for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District among a field of eleven candidates. Several of those candidates are incumbents on the state legislative level, including House Minority Leader and State Rep. Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville), who advanced into a runoff election against former Obama administration official Shomari Figures of Mobile.

Figures led the vote count at 43% ahead of Daniels’ 23% among a total of more than 57,000 ballots cast.

The two remaining Democratic frontrunners will compete in an April 16, 2024 party runoff to decide the fate of a new district designed to favor the eventual nominee as product of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that reshaped Alabama’s congressional map.

On Tuesday night, both candidates shared their gameplan to bring home the race in just over a month’s time.

Figures — son of State Sen. Vivian Figures (D-Mobile) and an appointee across numerous departments during the Obama administration, including the U.S. Department of Justice — said he was seeking support from officeholders who were unsuccessful on Tuesday.

.@ShomariFigures statement on CD2 Dem runoff against Anthony Daniels: “I want to acknowledge the other candidates in this race for the sacrifices they made over the course of their campaigns and the contributions they continue to make to our state. I commend their efforts and…

— Grayson Everett (@Grayson270) March 6, 2024

“When this district was drawn, we knew we had an opportunity to send experienced leadership to Washington so that the voices of those from Mobile to Montgomery and every county in between would finally be represented in Congress,” Figures added. “Tonight, voters across the 2nd district seized that opportunity, and we owe this to each person who cast a ballot, volunteered, and supported our campaign.”

Daniels thanked supporters after making the runoff and shifted gears to draw attention to “spending from special interests” influencing the primary. It was reported $1.7 million was invested in Figures’ favor on behalf of a cryptocurrency PAC active across primary elections.

Despite over a million dollars of spending from special interests outside of AL in support of my opponent, AL-2 came together to say they do not want to see this election go to the highest bidder. pic.twitter.com/DNO3IRjiow

— Anthony Daniels (@AnthonyDaniels) March 6, 2024

“The results tonight show that people in the 2nd Congressional District want a representative that understands their communities and has a strong track record of delivering results,” Daniels said on Tuesday night.

The eventual Democratic nominee to the 2nd Congressional District will face either former State Sen. Dick Brewbaker or Montgomery real estate attorney with major backing from Alabama’s agricultural community, Caroleene Dobson in the November 5, 2024 general election.

Grayson Everett is the state and political editor for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @Grayson270