Outside Spending for Figures Grows as Pro-Israel Democratic PAC Plans $2 Million in 2nd District

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Outside spending in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District race is climbing in the final stretch before the Nov. 3 election, and much of the newest money is lining up behind Democratic U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures. A super PAC affiliated with Democratic Majority for Israel is set to spend $2 million supporting Figures, according to a report published Friday, Oct. 23, that also said former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg had sent a fresh round of money to the group’s super PAC.

That spending would come on top of more than $1.4 million in advertising backing Figures that Ready for the Fight, a super PAC tied to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, has put into the race in recent weeks, according to the report. Taken together, the commitments mean Democratic-aligned advertising is running well ahead of Republican spending in the district, where Figures, a first-term incumbent, faces Republican state Rep. Rhett Marques of Enterprise.

Voters across the district, which stretches from Montgomery through the Black Belt and into the Wiregrass, have seen a steady stream of television, digital and mail advertising for weeks. The latest figures suggest that stream is not likely to slow down before Election Day.

What the new spending report shows

The report released Friday outlined several sources of outside support for Figures:

• Democratic Majority for Israel’s super PAC: Set to spend $2 million supporting Figures. Bloomberg, the billionaire businessman who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, reportedly provided an infusion of cash to the super PAC.
• Ready for the Fight: The Pritzker-affiliated super PAC has spent more than $1.4 million on advertising supporting Figures in recent weeks.
• Nancy Pelosi: The former U.S. House speaker, a California Democrat, is among Figures’ top financial backers.

Earlier ad-tracking data cited in South AL News coverage of the race attributed about $1.6 million in pro-Figures advertising to No Going Back, a political action committee associated with Pritzker. It was not immediately clear from the latest report how the spending by the two Pritzker-linked committees overlaps.

Federal Election Commission filings reviewed for earlier coverage showed Pelosi and her leadership PAC together gave $7,000 to Figures’ campaign during the third quarter. The Marques campaign has called on Figures to return donations from committees tied to the former speaker.

Republican outside money

Republicans have also brought in outside help, though at a lower level than the new Democratic commitments. A super PAC aligned with President Donald Trump has spent about $2.1 million on ads supporting Marques, according to ad-tracking data cited earlier this week. That committee increased its spending in mid-October, pushing its total past $2 million.

National Republican figures have also traveled to the district. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise campaigned with Marques in Dothan this week, and Trump endorsed Marques and appeared with him at an Oct. 2 rally in Mobile. Republicans see the seat as one of their better opportunities to gain ground in a narrowly divided House.

The candidates’ own money

Outside spending is separate from the money the candidates raise themselves, and on that front Figures holds a clear lead. Reports filed with the FEC in mid-October showed:

• Figures: Raised more than $1 million from late July through September, bringing his total for the election cycle to about $2.4 million. He entered October with $1.38 million in cash on hand.
• Marques: Raised about $317,000 over the same period, bringing his total for the cycle to about $1.6 million, including money raised during his Republican primary. He entered October with about $328,000 in cash on hand.

Figures has also received help from national Democrats through a joint fundraising committee for vulnerable House incumbents, which transferred $219,500 to his campaign during the third quarter. Marques has drawn support from Alabama business and agricultural political action committees and from House Republican leaders, including the leadership PAC of U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.

About Democratic Majority for Israel

Democratic Majority for Israel was founded in 2019 by Democratic strategists, including pollster Mark Mellman, to promote pro-Israel policies within the Democratic Party. The organization is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, and it operates a political arm that endorses and spends on behalf of Democratic candidates.

The group has a record of spending heavily in a small number of House races. In past cycles it has backed Democrats in contested primaries in Ohio, New York and Missouri, and it spent more than $2 million in a California House primary earlier this year. A general-election investment in a Southern district held by a Democrat is a different kind of play, aimed at helping an incumbent hold a seat rather than shaping a party primary.

Figures has previously drawn support from pro-Israel donors. Campaign finance records reviewed earlier in the cycle listed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee among his largest contributors.

Who is spending

Michael Bloomberg is the founder of the financial data and media company Bloomberg L.P. He served three terms as mayor of New York City, from 2002 through 2013, and ran briefly for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. He has been one of the largest individual donors to Democratic causes and candidates in recent election cycles.

JB Pritzker has served as governor of Illinois since 2019. A Democrat and an heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, he has used political committees to support Democratic candidates outside his home state. Pritzker’s interest in races beyond Illinois has drawn attention from Republicans in Alabama; while campaigning for Marques in Dothan this week, Scalise criticized Figures for having “people like Governor Pritzker of Illinois funding his campaign.”

Nancy Pelosi represented a San Francisco district in Congress for decades and served as speaker of the House twice. She now holds the title of speaker emerita.

How super PACs work

Super PACs are a type of political committee that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money from individuals, corporations and unions, as long as they do not coordinate their spending with candidates or political parties. They emerged after a pair of 2010 court rulings, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which held that the government could not limit independent political spending by corporations and unions.

Unlike a candidate’s campaign committee, which faces strict limits on how much any one donor can give, a super PAC can accept a single seven-figure check. That is why a handful of wealthy donors can have an outsized effect on spending in a single district.

The money a super PAC spends on ads that expressly support or oppose a candidate is called an independent expenditure, and it must be disclosed to the FEC. In the final weeks before an election, those disclosures speed up. Independent expenditures of $1,000 or more made within 20 days of an election generally must be reported within 24 hours, which is why new spending figures often surface almost daily as Election Day approaches. All of the reports are public and can be searched at fec.gov.

Ads paid for by outside groups typically carry a “paid for by” disclaimer naming the committee and stating that the ad was not authorized by any candidate. Voters who want to know who is behind an ad can look up the committee named in that disclaimer on the FEC’s website.

Why the 2nd District is drawing national money

The district was redrawn earlier this year after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, and the new lines are more favorable to Republicans than the map under which Figures won in 2024. The new 2nd District includes Montgomery, Dothan and much of the Wiregrass, and it no longer includes Mobile County, Figures’ home and longtime political base. Trump would have carried the redrawn district by about 14 percentage points in 2024, according to analyses of the new lines.

Figures, a Mobile native who served as deputy chief of staff and counselor to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland before running for Congress, registered to vote in Montgomery in early October after redistricting moved Mobile out of the district.

Marques, a state lawmaker from Enterprise who has served in the Alabama House since 2018, won the Republican nomination in August. He is backed by Trump, U.S. Sen. Katie Britt and a list of business and agriculture groups, including the Alabama Farmers Federation.

Nonpartisan forecasters have generally rated the seat as favoring Republicans, though some analysts view it as competitive. Republicans hold a narrow majority in the U.S. House, and both parties see the district as one of a handful of races that could help decide which party controls the chamber next year. That national stake is a large part of why groups based far from Alabama are investing in the race.

Issues in the campaign

The candidates have clashed over fuel prices and Marques’ 2019 vote for the state gas tax increase, the farm bill, tariffs, federal spending and debates. Figures has accepted three debate invitations, while Marques has said he will not debate. Much of the outside advertising has focused on those same themes, particularly the cost of living.

Marques has accused Figures of representing “craziness over common sense,” while Figures has accused Marques of being too closely aligned with Trump administration policies that Figures says have raised costs for Alabama families.

What to know before you vote

• Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls in Alabama are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Absentee ballots: Mailed absentee ballot applications must be received by Oct. 27; in-person applications are due Oct. 29.
• Photo ID: Alabama requires voters to show an approved photo ID at the polls. Free voter ID cards are available to registered voters who do not have one.
• Check your district: Because congressional lines changed this year, voters can confirm their district and polling place through AlabamaVotes.gov or their county board of registrars.
• Follow the money: Campaign and outside spending reports are available at fec.gov. Candidates must also report contributions of $1,000 or more received in the final weeks before the election within 48 hours.

Both campaigns are expected to keep up an aggressive schedule of events across the district in the final days of the race, and additional outside spending reports are likely to be filed before polls open on Nov. 3.