Democratic Congressman Shomari Figures faces one of the toughest re-election battles in the United States after Alabama’s newly redrawn congressional map transformed the district that helped elect him just a year ago. The new boundaries have changed his once majority-Black district into one with a white majority, creating a far more competitive contest ahead of the November midterm elections.
Figures made history in 2024 by becoming the first Black person in modern history to represent Tuskegee in Congress, reported BBC. Soon after taking office, he secured $1 million in federal funding for a new civic centre in Tuskegee that will also house the city’s police and fire departments, according to BBC report. But before many of those projects could move forward, the political landscape changed after the US Supreme Court allowed Alabama to redraw its congressional map.
Why did Alabama redraw the map?
Alabama’s congressional boundaries have been at the centre of legal battles for several years. In 2023, the US Supreme Court ruled that an earlier map drawn by the Republican-led state legislature violated the Voting Rights Act because it weakened the voting power of Black residents by dividing them across several districts. That decision led to a revised map with two districts where Black voters formed either a majority or close to one, reports BBC. Figures successfully contested one of those districts in 2024.
However, the legal situation changed again in 2026. In April, the Supreme Court issued another ruling that made it much harder to challenge congressional maps on racial discrimination grounds. The decision allowed Alabama to introduce another redrawn map, which shifted Figures into a district with a white majority. Political analysts say the change significantly improves Republican chances in the seat because voting patterns in Alabama remain sharply divided along racial and partisan lines. Around 83% of Black voters support Democrats, while non-Hispanic white voters are more likely to vote Republican, reported BBC.
Figures believe the latest map unfairly targets minority representation. “I think it’s purely racially motivated,” Figures told BBC. “There’s literal evidence in the record of state legislators referring to Montgomery during the redistricting process as ‘monkey town,” he added.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall rejected those allegations. He said that the state’s approach is based on politics rather than race. “I don’t believe that there’s been a direct targeted history… in a way that suppresses minority voter participation,” Marshall told BBC.
Republicans also say that redistricting happens across the country and that states controlled by Democrats have similarly drawn maps that benefit their own party.
Can Shomari Figures win re-election?
The race has become much more competitive than it appeared just months ago. Figures now faces a Republican challenger in a district that includes more conservative, predominantly white areas added under the new map. State Representative Rhett Marques has emerged as the leading Republican candidate after receiving endorsements from House Speaker Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump, reported BBC. Marques has campaigned on issues including immigration, conservative policies and reducing government spending.
Despite the new political landscape, recent polling suggests Figures remain competitive, reported BBC. His supporters say that his short time in Congress has already brought tangible benefits to local communities.
In Tuskegee, city officials credit Figures with securing federal funding for projects that had struggled for years. Mayor Chris Lee told BBC that federal support remains vital for the city’s future. “All of our issues, we do depend on federal funding,” Lee said. “It’s very important that we have someone who has our back.”
Elsewhere in Alabama, Figures also helped Medical Center Barbour secure $500,000 in federal funding for an MRI machine and more than $1 million in federal tax credits, reported BBC. Hospital chief executive Janet Kinney praised his work. “I think he cares. And I’d hate to lose anybody that cares,” she told BBC.
