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Shomari Figures
American politician (born 1985) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Shomari Coleman Figures (born September 3, 1985) is an American politician and attorney serving as the U.S. representative from Alabama's 2nd congressional district since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, Figures was first elected in 2024 with 54.6% of the vote.
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Early life and career
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Shomari Coleman Figures was born in Mobile, Alabama, on September 3, 1985.[1] Figures is the son of Michael Figures, a civil rights attorney and member of the Alabama Senate, and Vivian Davis Figures, who succeeded her husband in the Alabama Senate after his death. His father was the attorney of Beulah Mae Donald whose son was lynched by members of the United Klans of America. Donald was awarded $7 million dollars, which bankrupted the organization.[2][3]
Figures graduated from LeFlore Magnet High School in Mobile, Alabama.[4] He attended the University of Alabama and earned a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice and history in 2006 and the University of Alabama School of Law, earning a Juris Doctor in 2010.[5] After law school, Figures served as a law clerk for Nannette A. Baker in the Eastern District of Missouri.[4]
Figures worked for Barack Obama's 2012 reelection campaign as a field organizer in Akron, Ohio.[6][7] He then worked in the Obama administration as the domestic director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office. He then served as the White House liaison to Loretta Lynch, the attorney general of the United States.[8] Figures became legislative counsel for U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and then worked on the presidential transition of Joe Biden.[6] Figures served as deputy chief of staff for Merrick Garland while he was attorney general until resigning in October 2023.[4]
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U.S. House of Representatives
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Elections
Following Allen v. Milligan, the Supreme Court ruled that Alabama's previous map violated the Voting Rights Amendment, the Court ordered Alabama to redraw its congressional maps to have an extra black district which made Alabama's 2nd congressional district majority black.[9]
In November 2023, Figures declared his candidacy to represent Alabama's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives in the 2024 elections.[10] In the Democratic primary, he led the 11-candidate field with 44% of the vote and advanced to a mid-April runoff election against Alabama House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels.[11][12] In the primary race, cryptocurrency political action committees spent millions to elect him and months after the primary, Figures asked the Democratic National Committee to adopt more pro-crypto policies in addition to encouraging Kamala Harris to select a "pro-innovation" Securities and Exchange Commission chair and a vice presidential candidate "sophisticated in digital asset policy".[13]
Figures defeated Daniels with 61% of the vote in the April runoff election.[14] Figures spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.[15] He defeated Republican Caroleene Dobson to win election to Congress[16] and was sworn into office on January 3, 2025.[17] Upon taking office on January 3, 2025; Figures became the first Democrat since 1963 to represent a significant portion of Mobile, and only the fourth since then to represent a significant portion of Montgomery.
Tenure
In 2025, Figures was one of 46 House Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.[18]
Committee assignments
For the 119th Congress:[19]
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Personal life
Figures met Kalisha Dessources in 2014 while they both worked at the White House. They married on December 2, 2018, in East Brunswick, New Jersey,[20] and have three children.[4] He is a Protestant.[21] Dr. Kalisha Dessources Figures holds a PhD from Yale University.[22]
Electoral history
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References
External links
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