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When Shomari Figures takes the stage on Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention, he’ll be taking Alabama’s entire 2nd congressional district with him.
Figures’ campaign announced Monday morning that he would receive the coveted speaking position, hitting the stage prior to the party’s nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris. Later, Figures, the 39-year-old Mobile native and son of a legendary Civil Rights leader father and groundbreaking state senator mother, said he would be standing on their legacies and the legacies of so many other great Civil Rights leaders from the district.
“I’ll be carrying them all with me,” Figures said. “I am honored to be chosen to speak on behalf of Alabama and the voters of District 2.”
The speaking position provided Figures likely indicates the importance of his race to the Democratic Party’s overall goal of taking control of the House. While Alabama’s newly-drawn 2nd is certainly more favorable to Dems, it is not a slam dunk. And Figures’ opponent, Republican Caroleene Dobson, has spent enough of her family fortune – more than $1.5 million so far – to ensure it remains competitive.
However, the presumptive nomination of Harris, instead of Biden, has injected considerably more life into the race for Figures, and most experts agree that the race is his to lose at this point.
Thursday’s speech could go a long way towards securing that victory and cementing Figures, who has worked for several years in the Department of Justice and in the Biden administration, as a rising star within the party.
