Shomari Figures Ad Uses ‘6-7’ Chant to Hit Rhett Marques Over 2019 Gas Tax Vote

MOBILE, Ala. — A new Shomari Figures ad borrows a schoolyard catchphrase to attack Republican challenger Rhett Marques over his 2019 vote for Alabama’s gas tax increase, signaling that the first-term Democrat intends to make fuel prices a central part of his closing pitch in a 2nd Congressional District that has been redrawn in a way expected to favor Republicans.

The 30-second spot is airing on television and digital platforms across the district. U.S. Rep. Figures, D-Mobile, faces state Rep. Marques, R-Enterprise, in the Nov. 3 general election.

What the “6-7” ad says

The commercial opens with a narrator asking, “How high did Rhett Marques raise the gas tax?” A group of children answers by chanting “six-seven, six-seven, six-seven,” before an adult voice delivers the line: “Rhett Marques voted to raise the gas tax by 67%.”

The chant plays on “6-7,” a viral bit of slang that swept through middle schools last year and became a running joke among parents who heard it repeated at home. The Figures campaign appears to be betting that voters who have heard the phrase from their own children for a year will remember the percentage.

The narrator goes on to list other charges against Marques.

“And Marques voted to increase taxes 22 times,” the narrator says. “Now Marques supports the tariffs and the war in Iran, sending gas prices through the roof.”

The ad ends with a voter saying, “He’s costing us,” followed by Figures’ approval message, the statement federal candidates are required to include in their own advertising.

That requirement, often called the “stand by your ad” rule, was added to federal campaign finance law in 2002 and requires candidates to personally state that they approved a television ad paid for by their campaign. It is intended to make clear to viewers who is responsible for the message.

The spot does not explain how it arrives at the 67% figure or which 22 votes it counts as tax increases.

The Rebuild Alabama Act vote

The gas tax claim centers on Marques’ vote for the Rebuild Alabama Act, the 2019 law that phased in a 10-cent-per-gallon increase in Alabama’s fuel tax to pay for road and bridge projects. The measure passed the Alabama House of Representatives 83-20, with support from most members of the chamber’s Republican supermajority.

Gov. Kay Ivey signed the legislation in March 2019 after calling lawmakers into a special session on infrastructure. The increase took effect in stages: 6 cents in September 2019, followed by an additional 2 cents in each of the next two years. The law also ties future adjustments to a highway construction cost index, with any increase limited to 1 cent every two years.

Revenue from the tax is divided among the Alabama Department of Transportation, counties and cities for road and bridge work. The law also included a provision to help finance the deepening and widening of the Mobile Harbor ship channel, a project closely watched in the Mobile area because of its importance to the Port of Mobile.

Supporters argued at the time that Alabama’s fuel tax had not been raised in decades and that the state’s roads and bridges needed a dedicated, growing source of funding. Opponents, including some conservative Republicans, argued the increase placed an added burden on drivers and families.

A familiar line of attack for Marques

The gas tax vote is not a new issue for Marques. It followed him throughout the Republican primary, where two of his opponents, David Matthews and Hampton Harris, made it a centerpiece of their campaigns against him.

Marques nonetheless won the August special primary outright, taking roughly 50% of the vote in a six-candidate field. Under Alabama election law, a candidate must win a majority of votes in a primary to avoid a runoff, so his showing allowed him to skip a second round of voting and move directly to the general election.

Marques entered the race with the endorsement of President Donald Trump. He has described his record in the Alabama House as including multiple tax cuts, a counterpoint to the Figures ad’s portrayal of him as a tax raiser.

Marques represents an Enterprise-area district in the Alabama House. Enterprise, in Coffee County, sits in the Wiregrass region of southeast Alabama, well to the east of Figures’ Mobile base.

Iran, tariffs and pump prices

The ad’s line tying Marques to tariffs and the war in Iran reflects a broader Democratic strategy this election cycle. Democrats in House races around the country have sought to link Republican candidates to the conflict and to its effect on fuel prices, and similar themes have appeared in campaign ads nationally.

For Figures, focusing on gas prices offers a pocketbook message aimed at voters across party lines in a district where he can no longer count on the same electorate that sent him to Washington.

A district that looks different than it did in 2024

Figures is defending a seat that has changed significantly since he won it two years ago.

He was first elected in 2024 under a court-ordered map. That map was drawn after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Allen v. Milligan, which upheld a lower court ruling that Alabama’s congressional districts likely violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting strength of Black residents. The remedial map created a second district in which Black voters had a realistic opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice, and Figures, a Mobile native and former Justice Department official, won it.

In June, the Supreme Court cleared Alabama to use the congressional map the Legislature drew in 2023. Under those lines, the 2nd District’s Black voting-age population fell from 48.7% to 39.9%, and the redrawn district is expected to favor Republicans.

Even so, the race appears competitive by some measures. A survey released this month by House Majority PAC, a Democratic-aligned super PAC that focuses on U.S. House races, showed the contest tied. At least one independent race rater has also narrowed the Republican advantage in its rating of the district. Internal and party-aligned polls are generally released by groups with a stake in the outcome, so many observers weigh them alongside other indicators such as fundraising and independent ratings.

What comes next

With less than two weeks left before Election Day, the two campaigns are offering voters contrasting messages. Figures is emphasizing cost-of-living issues, while Marques has leaned on his Trump endorsement and his record on taxes in the state Legislature.

• Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls in Alabama are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• The candidates: Democratic U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures of Mobile and Republican state Rep. Rhett Marques of Enterprise.
• Voter ID: Alabama requires voters to present valid photo identification at the polls.
• Check your district: Because the congressional lines changed this year, voters can confirm their district and polling place through the Alabama Secretary of State’s office or their county board of registrars.

The outcome in the 2nd District will be closely watched beyond Alabama, as both parties look to individual House seats that could shape control of the chamber in the next Congress.