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Hakeem Jefferies, minority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, joined Shomari Figures and other officials in Montgomery to support the Figures campaign just days out from the election.
Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed and U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama’s 7th Congressional District also showed their support for Figures during a series of campaign events Thursday.
Figures is the Democratic nominee for the newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District, squaring off against Republican nominee Caroleene Dobson.
Jeffries, D-NY, stands to be the next U.S. Speaker of the House if Democrats flip the chamber Tuesday. If Republicans hold the majority, Jeffries will remain minority leader.
“We, of course, are here today to support Shomari Figures, who will be a voice for the voiceless, a civil rights champion, a defender of our democracy, someone who will consistently put people over politics and fight for the things that matter,” Jeffries said. “To make sure that there’s an economy that works for every single person in the district that he will represent in the United States House of Representatives.”
Jeffries said visiting Montgomery was “humbling,” noting its history in the Civil Right Movement from the Civil Rights Act to fair housing.
“And (the work of civil rights leaders) of course, perhaps most significantly for this moment, resulted in the 1965 Voting Rights Act that lives on to this day, including the creation of this opportunity-to-elect district where the voters of this great city will have the chance on November 5 to send Shomari Figures to the United States House of Representatives.”
Sewell said she was “manifesting” that Jeffries would be the next speaker of the House and urged voters to support not just Figures, but Vice President Kamala Harris for President.
Part of Montgomery County had preciously been in Sewell’s district before the redrawing of the map.
Democrat lawmakers in the Alabama House of Representatives fought for a fair chance for Black voters in a second district, while Republicans fought to limit that opportunity.
Federal courts rejected the state-drawn maps and the conservative-heavy U.S. Supreme Court declined the state’s appeal to support its remedial map. The district court appointed a special master and ultimately approved a map with about a 48 percent Black voting age population, giving voters an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice.
The district is the only competitive Congressional race on the ballot. Figures has gained steam in recent weeks as the switch from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket has energized voters, but the campaign has warned against complacency.
The election will be held Tuesday, November 5.
