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With a boost from Vice President Kamala Harris, Shomari Figures is pulling away in the race for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, according to a new poll from the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Action Fund.
The poll, which collected information from 400 likely voters, found that Figures held a 51-39 lead over Republican challenger Caroleene Dobson. He also holds significant advantages over Dobson in both favorability and name recognition. Also, respondents were much more enthusiastic about voting for Figures.
“The enthusiasm is a big shift from the polling we did earlier this year,” said Brandon Jones, the director of political campaigns for the SPLC’s Action Fund. “Enthusiasm was down significantly with President Biden in the race, and we were very concerned about the turnout that we would see in this race. But it’s very obvious that (Harris) has sparked real enthusiasm and that has translated to more enthusiasm down the ticket as well.”
Alabama’s 2nd District will be one of the more closely watched races in the country, because of the voter dynamics within the district. Drawn by court order, and specifically by a special master, the district was designed to give Black voters an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choosing by joining like-minded white voters.
According to recent statistics from the newly drawn district, it would have elected a Democratic candidate in most of the recent elections, despite white voters holding a slight demographic advantage. Still, the district is very competitive, and a Republican blowout at the top of the ticket could spell doom for a Democrat in a House race on the same ticket. But that doesn’t seem like an issue now.
“Harris’ entry into the race really sparked a turnaround,” Jones said.
While that wasn’t really a surprise, given the national response to Harris’ campaign, there were some surprises within the polling, Jones said. For example, for all the talk of the border and abortion policy, they didn’t score highly on the list of top concerns for voters in the district.
Respondents rated K-12 education issues, crime and gun violence as their top issues. Securing the border rated ninth-most important, while restoring abortion rights rated 11th, in the 11-item survey.
Also, respondents said their vote was important in both the presidential election and in determining control of the House.
“I think people sometimes forget that while Donald Trump on the ticket creates a lot of excitement for (conservative) voters, the same is true for those voting against him,” Jones said. “The numbers for those who felt their vote was important in determining control of Congress were very high, and that tells you that people realize what’s at stake. And even if their vote can’t stop Trump from becoming president, maybe they can have some say in stopping his agenda.”
