Rep. Rhett Marques, R-Enterprise, giving a victory speech after winning a special primary election for Alabama's 2nd Congressional District on Aug. 11, 2026, in Enterprise, Alabama. Marques Tuesday won the Republican nomination for the seat, defeating five other candidates. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector)
Rep. Rhett Marques, R-Enterprise, won the Alabama Republican nomination for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District Tuesday night, defeating five others in a winner-take-all special primary election.
As of 8:41 p.m., Marques had about 15,468 votes, about 50% of the total with about 62% of ballots counted in unofficial returns. Hampton Harris, a business owner and attorney, had 6,270 (20.4%). David Matthews, a former Trump appointee, had 5,584 (18.2%).
Marques will face incumbent U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Mobile, in the general election, who was the only Democratic candidate to qualify in the race.
The election will take place under a map drawn by the Alabama Legislature in 2023 in response to a federal court ruling in a case known as Allen v. Milligan. A three-judge panel that heard Milligan ruled that a 2021 Alabama congressional map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by not giving Black Alabama voters a chance to elect their preferred representatives.
The courts later ruled that the 2023 map drawn by the Legislature also violated the VRA and drew new maps for the state, including a new 2nd Congressional District with a Black Voting Age Population (BVAP) of 48.7%. Figures was elected from the district in 2024.
But in April, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Louisiana v. Callais that plaintiffs challenging legislative maps under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, as the Milligan plaintiffs had, needed to show intentional discrimination, a significantly higher bar. The Supreme Court in June reversed its earlier Milligan decision and allowed Alabama to hold elections under the 2023 map. The map cuts the BVAP in the 2nd Congressional District from 48.7% to 39.9%, and is expected to give the district a Republican lean.
Marques campaigned on his endorsement from Trump and his “conservative legislative record” in the Alabama Legislature since his election in 2018. He often touted his votes supporting Alabama’s near-total abortion ban, multiple tax cuts and a 2026 law that extends the death penalty to child sexual assault.
Marques thanked voters, his staff, President Donald Trump, and U.S. Sen. Katie Britt during a victory speech Tuesday night to a crowd of about 100 in Enterprise. He said Republicans need to maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives to prevent the progressive wing of the Democratic party from taking control.
“This is not just about flipping a district. This about about craziness and common sense,” he said. “Basically they are communists who are trying to control their party and they’re letting them, and that’s scary … Do you really want Alabama to look like New York and California?”
Marques’ Republican opponents criticized the state representative for his 2018 vote to increase the state gas tax. Figures said in a statement Tuesday night that Marques’ support of the war in Iran will increase fuel prices more.
“The choice in this race is simple; I have worked for the people of Alabama because that is who we should be working for. My opponent would be just another rubber stamp on the same policies that are making life more expensive for the people right here in Alabama,” Figures said.
- 8:47 pmThis story was updated at 8:47 p.m. to include comments from Marques' victory speech.
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Author: Anna Barrett