Eleven candidates are running in the Democratic primary election for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District on March 5. Six candidates, all Democrats, lead in local media attention: Napoleon Bracy Jr., Merika Coleman, Anthony Daniels, Shomari Figures, Juandalynn Givan and Jeremy Gray.
The primary is taking place in the context of court-ordered redistricting. In Oct. 2023, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama approved a new congressional district map for Alabama after federal courts found two previous redistricting efforts violated the Voting Rights Act. The Oct. 2023 map redrew the 2nd District to have a 48.7% Black voting-age population, which political commentators say will tilt it towards Democrats. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, a Republican, is running for reelection in the 1st District, leaving the 2nd District open.
Five of the six leading candidates serve in the Legislature. Bracy, Daniels, Givan and Gray are members of the House, while Coleman is a member of the Senate. Four of the five hold leadership positions. Bracy is chairman of the Alabama House Legislative Black Caucus, Coleman chairs the Alabama Legislative Black Caucus, Daniels is House minority leader, and Gray is House minority whip. Figures is a former federal official who worked in the Obama administration, U.S. Congress, and as a counselor to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Also running in the primary are Democrats Phyllis Harvey-Hall, Vimal Patel and Larry Darnell Simpson.
If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to an April 16 primary runoff.
As of Jan. 4, The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales, and Larry J. Sabato’s Crystal Ball each rated the general election likely Democratic.
