2nd District Ad Spending Tops $11 Million as Democrats Outspend GOP in Figures-Marques Race

WASHINGTON — Total 2nd District ad spending has passed $11 million in Alabama’s most competitive congressional race, making the contest between Democratic U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures and Republican state Rep. Rhett Marques the costliest advertising battle on the state’s ballot this fall, ahead of even the race for governor.

The total covers advertising since the special primary and comes from AdImpact, a firm that tracks political ad buys, in data current as of Wednesday. Voters in the newly redrawn district, which runs from Montgomery through the Wiregrass, have seen a steady flow of television, streaming and digital ads in the final days before Tuesday’s general election.

Groups supporting Figures have outspent those backing Marques. Democratic-aligned spending in the general election season totals about $7.1 million, while groups supporting Marques have spent about $4.1 million since the special primary, according to AdImpact. Marques easily won the Republican nomination in August.

Spending at a glance

• Total ad spending: More than $11 million since the special primary.
• Pro-Figures groups: About $7.1 million in the general election season.
• Pro-Marques groups: About $4.1 million since the special primary.
• Largest single spender: No Going Back, a Trump-aligned super PAC, at about $2.7 million.
• Top market: Montgomery, with about $5.3 million in general election spending.

The money reflects how closely both parties are watching the seat. On Tuesday, a nonpartisan political forecaster moved the race from “Leans Republican” to “Toss-up,” a shift in Democrats’ favor. Another national forecaster recently moved the district from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican.”

The Republican side

The biggest single spender in the race is No Going Back, a super PAC aligned with President Donald Trump, which has invested about $2.7 million. AdImpact data shows the group running four broadcast and streaming spots and two digital ads.

The group’s newest 30-second ad ties Figures to national Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

“Here’s a number Shomari’s hiding. 95 (%),” the ad states. “That’s how often Shomari Figures voted with radical Democrats like Nancy Pelosi.”

Alabama Christian Conservatives, a super PAC aligned with Marques, is the second-largest Republican spender, with about $676,000 spent on his behalf since the special primary. AdImpact data shows the group has aired three broadcast ads, including one that began running Wednesday. That ad uses a phrase that has become a regular part of Marques’ stump speech.

“Out-of-state radicals are falsely attacking Rhett Marques because they can’t stand America. The choice comes down to two things: craziness versus common sense,” the ad states.

Conservatives for American Excellence, another GOP-aligned super PAC, launched a broadcast ad Wednesday attacking Figures over illegal immigration. The spot is running in the Montgomery and Dothan markets, and its narrator calls the congressman “radical, liberal Shomari Figures” and says he is “too extreme for Alabama.”

Marques’ own campaign has spent about $425,000 on advertising, according to AdImpact.

The Democratic side

Most of the money supporting Figures has come from three main sources.

The largest investment comes from the House Democrats’ campaign arm, working in coordination with Figures’ campaign. Together they have spent about $2.2 million during the general election season and are running five broadcast and streaming ads in the district, according to AdImpact.

One of the newest entrants is the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, which began spending for Figures last week and has spent about $1.8 million on advertising since last Saturday. The organization says it supports Democrats who “stand with Israel” and “recognize the U.S.-Israel relationship as a vital national security partnership.”

The group is airing two broadcast ads. One, a 30-second spot running in all three of the district’s main markets, criticizes Marques’ votes on taxes in the Legislature.

“Rhett Marques voted to raise our taxes 22 times,” the ad states. “His excuse? ‘These people do not understand how local bills work.’ These people, he means us.”

The second ad, running in Montgomery, targets Marques’ support for the CHOOSE Act, Alabama’s education savings account program, which became law in 2024. The program provides state-funded accounts that eligible families can use for private school tuition and other approved education expenses.

Ready for the Fight, a PAC associated with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate, has also spent about $1.8 million on advertising to help Figures, according to AdImpact.

The gas tax and ‘six-seven’

Taxes are by far the most frequent topic in the race’s advertising, with ads on both sides attacking or defending each candidate’s record.

Last week, Figures’ campaign released an ad built around the “six-seven” catchphrase, criticizing Marques for his 2019 vote for the Rebuild Alabama Act. That law raised the state’s fuel tax by 10 cents per gallon, phased in over three years, to pay for road and bridge projects.

“How high did Rhett Marques raise the gas tax? Six-seven …. Rhett Marques voted to raise the gas tax by 67%,” the ad states.

Marques has defended the vote as a safety measure for aging bridges.

“We took it upon ourselves to make sure that we took care of our families, protected our children who couldn’t even pass some of the bridges over school buses that were having to go out of the way,” Marques said last week. “It was a safety issue.”

Figures addresses transgender issues in new ad

On Wednesday, Figures’ campaign released a direct-to-camera broadcast ad addressing two issues Republicans frequently raise against Democrats: transgender athletes in women’s sports and gender-affirming medical care for minors. Marques often criticizes Figures on both while campaigning.

“Here’s the truth, I voted against biological men playing in women’s sports because I don’t support it,” Figures says in the ad. “Same with surgeries for minors; never have supported it and never will.”

Here is how Figures has voted on related measures. Most recently, he voted for an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would bar transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports at Department of Defense schools, and for another amendment that would prohibit TRICARE, the military health program, from covering gender-affirming medical care.

In January of last year, Figures voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which would bar schools that receive federal funding from allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports. At the time, he said in a statement that he does “not believe that biological males should be allowed to compete against biological females in sports.”

“I do not believe Congress should pass a law with no parameters or safeguards to prevent states from authorizing people to perform unwanted sex checks on young girls and women,” Figures said then. “If Republicans adequately fix that issue, they should bring it back to the table.”

In December of last year, Figures voted against the Protect Children’s Innocence Act, which would criminalize doctors who perform gender-affirming medical care on minors.

Where the money is going

Montgomery-area voters are seeing the most ads. About $5.3 million of the general election money has been spent in the Montgomery market, with Democratic-aligned groups accounting for about $3 million and Republicans about $2.3 million, according to AdImpact. No Going Back is the top spender in Montgomery at about $1.4 million, followed by Ready for the Fight at $1.1 million.

About $3 million has been spent on advertising in the Dothan market during the general election season, and about $2.2 million in the Columbus, Georgia, market, which reaches the eastern edge of the district along the Chattahoochee River. Democrats hold a spending advantage in each of the three main markets.

Montgomery is the main Democratic base in the new 2nd District, while the Wiregrass is Republican territory. Both campaigns recognize that turnout in Montgomery could be a key factor in deciding the race.

Why the district is drawing so much money

The 2nd District was redrawn this year to favor Republicans. Figures won the seat in 2024 under a court-ordered map drawn to give Black voters an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice; that version of the district included his hometown of Mobile. After a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this year, Alabama returned to the map the Legislature drew in 2023, and the district now centers on Montgomery, Dothan and the Wiregrass. Trump would have carried the new district by about 14 percentage points in 2024, according to analyses of the lines.

Republicans hold a narrow majority in the U.S. House, and both parties see the 2nd District as one of a small number of seats that could help decide control of the chamber. That national stake explains why committees based outside Alabama are spending heavily on both sides.

How to tell who paid for an ad

Federal law requires political ads to carry a disclaimer identifying who paid for them. Ads from outside groups generally state that they were not authorized by any candidate, while ads paid for by a campaign say the candidate approved the message. Voters who want to learn more about a committee named in a disclaimer can look up its filings on the Federal Election Commission’s website, fec.gov, where super PACs and other committees report their spending.

Ad tracking figures such as AdImpact’s measure the cost of advertising placed on broadcast, streaming and digital platforms. They are separate from the fundraising totals candidates report to the FEC and do not include other campaign costs such as staff, mail or get-out-the-vote efforts.

Election Day details

Polls in Alabama are open Tuesday, Nov. 3, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters must present an acceptable photo ID. Because congressional district lines changed this year, voters can confirm their district, polling place and sample ballot at AlabamaVotes.gov or through their county board of registrars.