Contested Democratic primary in Alabama heads to runoff

by Caroline Vakil - 03/06/24 12:40 AM ET

The U.S. Capitol is seen in Washington, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. President Joe Biden on Tuesday night will stand before a joint session of Congress for the first time since voters in the midtem elections handed control of the House to Republicans. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Democrats Shomari Figures and Anthony Daniels will head into a runoff for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, according to a projection from Decision Desk HQ.

Figures, who was a former top aide to Attorney General Merrick Garland and who had also worked on the Biden-Harris transition team, will go head-to-head against Daniels — the state House minority leader — on April 16 after neither candidate was able to secure at least half the vote to avoid a runoff.

Eleven candidates in total competed on the Democratic side.

The 2nd Congressional District was established as the state’s second majority Black district after the Supreme Court ruled last year that the state likely violated the Voting Rights Act. Though Black residents make up 27 percent of the state, the state only had one Black majority district at the time.

The nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report rates the state’s 2nd Congressional District “likely Democrat.”

Tags Merrick Garland