Democratic gubernatorial nominee Doug Jones joined U.S. Representative Shomari Figures, D-Alabama, on Tuesday evening for a town hall at Troy University, where the two candidates took questions from students, community members and voters ahead of the November election.
The event, hosted by the Troy University College Democrats and Pike County Democrats, focused heavily on congressional redistricting and the continuing fight over Black voting power in Alabama.
Alabama’s 2026 congressional elections are proceeding under the Legislature’s 2023 map after the U.S. Supreme Court stayed a lower-court injunction in June. The order followed the court’s April decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which changed the legal standard governing discriminatory-effect vote-dilution claims under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
The decision restored the Republican-drawn 2023 plan and displaced the court-ordered map used during the 2024 election. That remedial map established a second Black-opportunity district following the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Allen v. Milligan.
Figures won the reconfigured 2nd Congressional District in 2024, joining U.S. Representative Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, as Alabama’s two Black members of Congress. He is now seeking reelection against Republican state Representative Rhett Marques under dramatically different district lines.
Both Figures and Jones argued Tuesday that the new district remains competitive. A DCCC-sponsored poll released this week showed Figures and Marques tied at 46 percent, with 8 percent of voters undecided.
Jones said reaching voters in parts of Alabama where Democrats have not competed consistently represents an opportunity for candidates heading into November.
“We are moving into areas that Democrats haven’t gone in a while. That’s why we’re doing these town halls,” Jones said. “We are not just going out trying to preach to the choir. We’re talking to people, and we’re listening to people. That’s the critical piece.”
Holding the town hall in Pike County carried additional significance. Civil rights leader and longtime Georgia congressman John Lewis was born and raised near Troy, earning him the enduring nickname “the Boy from Troy.” His nephew, Ron Lewis, was among those attending Tuesday’s event.
Figures also pointed to what he described as growing enthusiasm surrounding Jones’ campaign and argued that energy at the top of the Democratic ticket could help candidates across the state.
“Doug Jones is running one of the most exciting and inspiring campaigns that we have seen for governor in recent memory,” Figures said. “And that energy is what’s going to lead the top of the ticket in November. And I am thrilled to stand in the winner’s circle with you in November.”
The joint appearance highlighted the candidates’ strategy of expanding Democratic outreach beyond the party’s traditional base and increasing turnout in communities that have often received little attention during statewide campaigns.
Watch the full town hall livestream here.
