Alabama's 2nd congressional district
Alabama's 2nd congressional district is a United States congressional district in Alabama, which elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives. It shares most of Montgomery metropolitan area, and includes the city of Mobile, and stretches into the Wiregrass Region in the eastern portion of the state. The district encompasses portions of Clarke and Mobile counties and the entirety of Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Conecuh, Crenshaw, Macon, Monroe, Montgomery, Pike, Russell, and Washington counties. Other cities in the district include Greenville and Troy.
The district is represented by Democrat Shomari Figures, after being elected in 2024.
The 2nd was completely overhauled in advance of the 2024 elections, as a consequence of the United States Supreme Court's decision in Allen v. Milligan, which ordered Alabama to create a second black opportunity district. Following this, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama appointed a special master to create new maps for the state, which resulted in the 2nd joining the 7th as the state's two opportunity districts. Representative Barry Moore's home county of Coffee was drawn out of this district and into the [Alabama's Alabama's 1st congressional district|1st congressional district|1st], where he decided to run instead.
Character
There are several small-to-medium-sized cities spread throughout the district. Fort Novosel and Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base are both within its bounds, as is Troy University.White voters here were among the first in Alabama to shift from the Democratic Party; the old-line Southern Democrats in this area began splitting their tickets as early as the 1950s. Southeast Alabama is one of the most Republican regions in both Alabama and the nation. It has only supported a Democrat for president once since 1956, when Jimmy Carter carried it in 1976.
In 2008, voters elected three-term mayor of Montgomery Bobby Bright to Congress, making him the first Democrat to hold the seat since 1964. Bright then lost reelection to Republican Martha Roby in 2010, who was a member of the Montgomery City Council. Roby did not run for reelection in the 2020 election, and Republican Barry Moore was elected to the open seat. At the state and local level, however, conservative Democrats continued to hold most offices as late as 2002.
In the 2008 United States presidential election, voters gave John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, 63.42% of the vote; Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate, received 36.05%, attracting voters beyond the substantial African-American minority.
The district gives its congressmen very long tenures in Washington; only six people have represented it from 1923 to 2021, with five of six holding it for at least 10 years and four of six holding it for at least 15 years. Barry Moore, elected in 2021, represented the district when it was redrawn in 2023; since the district was redrawn, he has continued his congressional career in the neighboring 1st district.
The new 2nd district includes the heavier African American communities of Butler, Macon, Monroe, Pike, and Russell counties as well as the state capital of Montgomery, Alabama.
Counties and communities within the district
For the 119th and successive Congresses, the district contains all or portions of the following counties and communities.Barbour County '
Bullock County '
Butler County '
Clarke County '
Conecuh County '
Crenshaw County '
Macon County '
Mobile County '
Monroe County '
Montgomery County '
Pike County '
Russell County '
Washington County ''''''