Scalise Rallies for Marques in Alabama 2nd Congressional District Race Against Figures

DOTHAN, Ala. — U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise came to Dothan on Monday to rally Republicans behind state Rep. Rhett Marques in the race for the Alabama 2nd Congressional District seat, a contest both national parties are treating as a potential deciding seat in the fight for control of the U.S. House.

Marques, a Republican from Enterprise, is challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures in the Nov. 3 general election. Figures responded to Monday’s event with a statement criticizing Marques’ record on taxes and renewing a call for the two candidates to debate.

With two weeks left before Election Day, the race has drawn millions of dollars in outside spending from groups on both sides.

Scalise calls newly drawn district a ‘swing district’

Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, spoke to reporters after a law enforcement roundtable in Dothan. He described the newly redrawn 2nd District, which stretches from the Wiregrass to Montgomery, as a “swing district” that Republicans need to win this year to keep their House majority and keep him in his role as majority leader.

“This seat absolutely will have a larger say on the direction of the country,” Scalise told reporters. “Do we want conservative policies that are rooted in common sense, or do you want far-left socialists, defund the police agenda moving forward?”

Scalise also pointed to out-of-state Democratic support for Figures, arguing that it could motivate Republican voters to turn out in two weeks to prevent what he called “Chicago politics” in Alabama.

“I’m here from another Gulf Coast state, a neighboring state, supporting a like-minded conservative with common sense,” Scalise said. “He’s got people like Governor Pritzker of Illinois funding his campaign. He’s got Cory Booker from New Jersey coming in.”

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., is scheduled to campaign with Figures in Dothan and Montgomery on Thursday.

As House majority leader, Scalise is the second-ranking Republican in the chamber, responsible for managing the House floor schedule and helping move the majority’s legislative agenda.

Marques makes his case to Wiregrass voters

Marques, standing alongside local law enforcement officers at Monday’s event, also framed the race as one with national stakes and urged Republicans to vote.

“We can have Leader Scalise continue leadership, or we can go the other direction toward Democrat socialists leading this country and that’s not the direction that we here in Alabama want,” Marques said. “We want to take Alabama common sense to Washington, D.C.”

Marques called the difference between himself and Figures “vast.” He said the people of the 2nd District need “a proven conservative leader” focused on “cutting taxes, protecting our families, supporting law enforcement, our military, our veterans, our farmers.”

The Enterprise lawmaker highlighted his background as a small business owner in the Wiregrass and contrasted it with Figures’ career path. Before running for Congress, Figures lived in Maryland and worked on the Biden-Harris transition team and at the U.S. Department of Justice under then-Attorney General Merrick Garland. He launched his first campaign for Congress in 2023, returning to his hometown of Mobile.

Figures fires back on gas tax and calls for a debate

Figures answered Marques’ comments with a statement focused on taxes and on Marques’ ties to the district.

“Gas is high and Rhett Marques is why. He raised the gas tax by 67% in Alabama,” Figures said. “Rhett knows the district lines recently changed and he keeps saying he raised his family in the district. Guess what else he raised in the district? Your taxes, 22 times. If he truly believes all this nonsense he says, we should just debate.”

Figures’ statement echoed a line of attack that has appeared repeatedly in ads against Marques. He also used the statement to press for a debate, arguing that if Marques truly believes what he says on the campaign trail, the two candidates should meet face to face.

Campaign advertisements attacking Marques have repeatedly cited his 2019 vote in the Alabama Legislature to raise the state gas tax by 10 cents per gallon over three years. That increase was part of the Rebuild Alabama Act, which helped fund road and bridge improvements across the state. The measure passed the Alabama House 83-20, with lawmakers from both parties voting in favor.

Asked about that vote on Monday, Marques defended it as a matter of safety, pointing to aging bridges that school buses could not safely cross.

“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. “It was a safety issue.”

Marques also said the gas tax increase has spurred economic development across Alabama, citing growth at the Port of Mobile and the recently started construction of the Mobile River Bridge.

What the Rebuild Alabama Act did

The Rebuild Alabama Act was signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey in 2019 after a special legislative session focused on infrastructure. It raised the state’s fuel tax by 10 cents per gallon, phased in over three years, and tied future adjustments to changes in highway construction costs. It was the state’s first fuel tax increase in decades.

Revenue from the law is divided among the state, counties and cities for road and bridge work, and a portion was set aside for improvements to the ship channel serving the Port of Mobile. Supporters, including members of both parties, argued the state’s transportation network needed a dedicated funding source. Critics objected to raising taxes on fuel, a cost that falls on nearly every household.

That 2019 vote has now become a central point of contention in the 2nd District race, with Marques describing it as a necessary investment in safety and economic growth and Figures and his allies portraying it as a tax increase that has hit voters’ wallets.

Outside money pours into a closely watched race

Figures won the 2nd District seat in 2024 under a map drawn after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Allen v. Milligan, a Voting Rights Act case that led to a court-ordered redrawing of Alabama’s congressional districts. This year, Alabama Republicans redistricted again in a way that gives the GOP an edge in the newly redrawn 2nd District. Even so, the race is not considered a guaranteed Republican win. Nonpartisan election forecasters rate it as Likely Republican.

National Democratic groups, hoping to hold the seat in a national political environment viewed as unfavorable for Republicans, have spent millions supporting Figures. National Republicans, as Scalise’s visit shows, see the seat as an important pickup opportunity.

Advertising tracking data shows significant outside spending on both sides:

• Supporting Figures: No Going Back, a political action committee associated with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, has spent about $1.6 million on advertising backing Figures.
• Supporting Marques: A super PAC aligned with President Donald Trump has spent about $2.1 million so far on ads supporting Marques.

The candidates’ own campaign accounts show a gap. Figures entered October with $1.38 million in cash on hand, while Marques had $328,000, according to campaign finance figures.

Both campaigns are emphasizing turnout. Scalise and Marques urged Republicans to show up in two weeks, while Figures is bringing in Booker for appearances in Dothan and Montgomery as the race enters its final stretch.

Who the candidates are

Shomari Figures, a Democrat, is the incumbent in the 2nd District. A Mobile native, he worked in Washington, D.C., including on the Biden-Harris transition team and at the Justice Department, before returning to Alabama to run for Congress. He has made Marques’ tax record a focus of his response and has challenged Marques to a debate.

Rhett Marques, a Republican, is a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from Enterprise and a Wiregrass small business owner. He has campaigned on cutting taxes and supporting law enforcement, the military, veterans and farmers, and he has defended his 2019 gas tax vote as a safety and economic development measure.

How and when to vote

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3. In Alabama, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and voters must show an acceptable photo ID at the polls, such as an Alabama driver’s license, a state-issued ID card, a U.S. passport or a free Alabama photo voter ID card.

Voters who are unsure whether they live in the redrawn 2nd District, where to vote or what will appear on their ballot can check their registration and polling place through the Alabama Secretary of State’s office or contact their county board of registrars. Those who plan to vote absentee should check with their county’s absentee election manager about application and return deadlines, which come before Election Day.

Because district lines changed this year, some voters may find themselves in a different congressional district than in past elections. Checking a sample ballot ahead of time is the simplest way to confirm which races will be on the ballot.

With national leaders from both parties visiting the district, outside groups spending heavily and the candidates sharpening their contrasts on taxes, experience and ties to the region, the final two weeks of the 2nd District race are likely to remain among the most closely watched in Alabama.