Alabama's 2nd congressional district (AL-02) is one of seven U.S. House districts in Alabama. The district covers the southeastern part of the state, including Montgomery, the state capital, and stretches south to the Florida border, encompassing parts of the Black Belt region. The 2024 election for this seat is notable because of a major court-ordered redistricting that redrew the map to create a second majority-Black district in Alabama. The previous map, drawn after the 2020 census, had one majority-Black district (AL-07) and was challenged under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. A federal court ruled that the map likely diluted Black voting power. The Supreme Court upheld that ruling in June 2023 in Allen v. Milligan. The new district lines, finalized in late 2023, changed AL-02 from a safe Republican seat to a competitive one. In the 2022 election, Republican Barry Moore won the old AL-02 by 29 points. The new district has a Black voting-age population of about 49%. The 2024 race attracted national attention and spending from both parties. The primary elections were held on March 5, 2024. The Democratic primary was a crowded field of nine candidates. Shomari Figures, a former deputy chief of staff to Attorney General Merrick Garland, won the Democratic nomination after a runoff on April 16, 2024. On the Republican side, former state senator Dick Brewbaker won the nomination outright in the March primary. The general election on November 5, 2024, was one of the most closely watched House races in the country. Figures defeated Brewbaker by a margin of about 2 points, according to unofficial results. The race was called by major media outlets on election night. Figures will be sworn in for the term beginning in January 2027, pending official certification. The outcome of this race is a key data point for understanding the impact of redistricting litigation and the current political alignment in the South.

Historical Context

Alabama's 2nd congressional district has existed since 1823, though its boundaries have shifted many times. For most of the 20th century, the district was a classic 'Yellow Dog Democrat' seat, electing conservative white Democrats. From 1965 to 1993, the district was represented by William Louis Dickinson, a Republican, and then by Republican Terry Everett from 1993 to 2009. After the 1990 census, the state gained a seventh seat, and the 1992 map created a majority-Black district (AL-07) for the first time since Reconstruction. That map was challenged and upheld. The 2000 and 2010 census maps kept one majority-Black district. After the 2020 census, Alabama's Republican-controlled legislature drew a map with one majority-Black district (AL-07, 55% Black) and six majority-white districts. The map was challenged by a group of Black voters and organizations, including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. A three-judge federal panel ruled in January 2022 that the map likely violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by diluting Black voting power. The state appealed. The Supreme Court heard the case, Allen v. Milligan, in October 2022. In a 5-4 decision on June 8, 2023, the Court upheld the lower court ruling, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joining the three liberal justices. The Court ordered Alabama to draw a second district where Black voters had a reasonable opportunity to elect their preferred candidates. A special master, Richard Allen, was appointed to draw the new map. The final map, adopted in October 2023, created a new AL-02 with a Black voting-age population of 48.7%. This map was used for the 2024 elections. The 2024 race was the first competitive election in AL-02 in decades. The last Democrat to represent the district was Bill Dickinson's predecessor, who served until 1965. The 2024 race was seen as a test of whether a majority-minority district could elect a Black Democrat in a state that has trended heavily Republican in presidential elections.