Alabama Primary: New Congressional Map Gives Democrats a Rare Chance

Politics|Alabama Democrats Swarm to a Rare Chance to Increase Their Power https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/04/us/politics/alabama-primary-second-congressional-district.html You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. A court-mandated redistricting has made for a suddenly competitive congressional race in a ruby-red state, and Democrats have […]

T Kauer T Kauer
Mar 5, 2024 - 05:00
Alabama Primary: New Congressional Map Gives Democrats a Rare Chance

Alabama Primary: New Congressional Map Gives Democrats a Rare Chance thumbnail

Politics|Alabama Democrats Swarm to a Rare Chance to Increase Their Power

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/04/us/politics/alabama-primary-second-congressional-district.html

You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.

A court-mandated redistricting has made for a suddenly competitive congressional race in a ruby-red state, and Democrats have lined up to seize the opportunity.

Candidate signs are crowded together on a small patch of grass beside a road.
Voters on Tuesday will choose among a large field of primary candidates in the newly reshaped Second Congressional District of Alabama. Credit…Wes Frazer for The New York Times

Emily Cochrane

By Emily Cochrane

Emily Cochrane drove across Alabama’s new Second Congressional District to interview nearly two dozen voters and candidates.

When the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Alabama’s congressional map last year as an illegal dilution of Black voting power, the decision set in motion a heated redistricting battle.

Now, voters on Tuesday will head to the polls for the first time in a newly reshaped Second Congressional District, which was redrawn to give Black voters a fair opportunity to elect a representative of their choice.

The shake-up has drawn a field of nearly two dozen candidates, underscoring the rare political opportunity on offer: a primary without an incumbent, and because Black voters historically favor Democrats, a suddenly competitive race in ruby-red Alabama.

“If not now, I think I’ll be 60 before something else comes up,” said one of the Democratic candidates, State Representative Jeremy Gray, 38, as he stood near the waterworks in Prichard, Ala., trying to catch voters on their way to pay their monthly water bills.

Image

On top of persuading people to come out and vote, State Representative Jeremy Gray, said, “it’s a lot of education when it comes to what actually happened.”Credit…Wes Frazer for The New York Times

The race is also a test of what fair representation means in a state that has repeatedly provoked federal intervention by disregarding civil and voting rights laws. On top of persuading people to come out and vote, Mr. Gray said, “it’s a lot of education when it comes to what actually happened.”

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

Read More