Shomari Figures | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's2nd district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Barry Moore |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Shomari Coleman Figures (1985-09-03)September 3, 1985 (age 40) Mobile, Alabama, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | Thomas Figures (uncle) |
| Education | University of Alabama (BA,JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Shomari Coleman Figures (born September 3, 1985) is an American politician and attorney serving as theU.S. representative fromAlabama's 2nd congressional district since 2025. A member of theDemocratic Party, Figures was first elected in2024.
Shomari Coleman Figures was born inMobile, Alabama, on September 3, 1985.[1] Figures is the son ofMichael Figures, a civil rights attorney and member of theAlabama Senate, andVivian Davis Figures, who succeeded her husband in the Alabama Senate after his death. His father was the attorney ofBeulah Mae Donald whose son,Michael, was lynched by members of theUnited Klans of America. Donald was awarded $7 million dollars, which bankrupted the organization.[2][3]
Figures graduated fromLeFlore Magnet High School inMobile, Alabama.[4] He attended theUniversity of Alabama and earned aBachelor of Arts in criminal justice and history in 2006 and theUniversity of Alabama School of Law, earning aJuris Doctor in 2010.[5] After law school, Figures served as alaw clerk for Nannette A. Baker in theEastern District of Missouri.[4]
Figures worked forBarack Obama's2012 reelection campaign as a field organizer inAkron, Ohio.[6][7] He then worked in theObama administration as the domestic director of theWhite House Presidential Personnel Office. He then served as the White House liaison toLoretta Lynch, theattorney general of the United States.[8] Figures became legislative counsel for U.S. SenatorSherrod Brown and then worked on thepresidential transition of Joe Biden.[6] Figures served as deputy chief of staff forMerrick Garland while he was attorney general until resigning in October 2023.[4]
FollowingAllen v. Milligan, the Supreme Court ruled that Alabama's previous map violated the Voting Rights Amendment, the Court ordered Alabama to redraw its congressional maps to have an extra black district which madeAlabama's 2nd congressional district majority black.[9]
In November 2023, Figures declared his candidacy to represent Alabama's 2nd congressional district in theUnited States House of Representatives in the2024 elections.[10] In the Democratic primary, he led the 11-candidate field with 44% of the vote and advanced to a mid-April runoff election against Alabama House Minority LeaderAnthony Daniels.[11][12] In the primary race,cryptocurrencypolitical action committees spent millions to elect him and months after the primary, Figures asked theDemocratic National Committee to adopt more pro-crypto policies in addition to encouragingKamala Harris to select a "pro-innovation"Securities and Exchange Commission chair and a vice presidential candidate "sophisticated in digital asset policy".[13]
Figures defeated Daniels with 61% of the vote in the April runoff election.[14] Figures spoke at the2024 Democratic National Convention.[15] He defeated Republican Caroleene Dobson to win election to Congress[16] and was sworn into office on January 3, 2025.[17] Upon taking office on January 3, 2025; Figures became the first Democrat since 1963 to represent a significant portion of Mobile, and only the fourth since then to represent a significant portion of Montgomery.
For the119th Congress:[18]
Figures met Kalisha Dessources in 2014 while they both worked at the White House. They married on December 2, 2018, inEast Brunswick, New Jersey,[19] and have three children.[4] He is aProtestant.[20] Dr. Kalisha Dessources Figures holds a PhD from Yale University.[21]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Shomari Figures | 24,980 | 43.4 | |
| Democratic | Anthony Daniels | 12,879 | 22.4 | |
| Democratic | Napoleon Bracy Jr. | 9,010 | 15.7 | |
| Democratic | Merika Coleman | 3,445 | 6.0 | |
| Democratic | Phyllis Harvey-Hall | 2,007 | 3.5 | |
| Democratic | James Averhart | 1,623 | 2.8 | |
| Democratic | Jeremy Gray | 1,580 | 2.7 | |
| Democratic | Juandalynn Givan | 1,261 | 2.2 | |
| Democratic | Vimal Patel | 289 | 0.5 | |
| Democratic | Larry Darnell Simpson | 247 | 0.4 | |
| Democratic | Willie Lenard | 199 | 0.3 | |
| Total votes | 57,520 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Shomari Figures | 21,926 | 61.0 | |
| Democratic | Anthony Daniels | 13,990 | 39.0 | |
| Total votes | 35,916 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Shomari Figures | 158,041 | 54.56% | ||
| Republican | Caroleene Dobson | 131,414 | 45.37% | ||
| Write-in | 219 | 0.07% | |||
| Total votes | 289,674 | 100.00 | |||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | |||||
Media related toShomari Figures at Wikimedia Commons| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Barry Moore Redistricted | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's 2nd congressional district 2025–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 386th | Succeeded by |