Alabama
Poll shows Democrat with 12-point lead in redrawn Alabama congressional district
The Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund released poll data Wednesday that shows Democratic nominee Shomari Figures with a 12-point lead over Republican nominee Caroleene Dobson in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District race. The poll has a 4.6% margin of error.
The polling was conducted from July 28 to Aug. 3 by Impact Research, a public opinion research and consulting firm that has “helped elect Democratic candidates at all levels” of United States government. It consisted of 400 people. About 80 percent were contacted via cellphone call, with the rest being contacted by landline.
Brandon Jones, director of political campaigns for SPLC Action Fund, said that the poll accurately reflected the redrawn district’s demographics and “what the electorate will look like in November.”
“This is a new district,” said Jones. “It’s a new dynamic for these voters who have an opportunity to be a part of a competitive congressional race.” Jones also said the Harris/Walz campaign helped reenergize voters in the district.
More: Voter turnout more than doubles in Alabama’s redrawn congressional district
Last year, in Allen v. Milligan, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the proposed Alabama congressional district map was gerrymandered, discriminating against Black voters. While the state initially refused to redraw the map, defying a federal court order, a new map was eventually drawn. This allowed for another nearly majority Black district in Alabama and set the stage for the competitive primaries as a minority opportunity district.
“There was certainly a significant enhancement in the level of excitement and motivation and inspiration of people wanting to get actively involved in the campaign and wanting to be more engaged directly,” Figures said during a news conference Wednesday.
The last Democrat elected in the district was former Rep. Bobby Bright in 2008. He served one term before being unseated by former Rep. Martha Roby, who was elected the same year as 7th Congressional District Rep. Terri Sewell.
More: When does early voting start in Alabama?
Victor Hagan is the Alabama Election Reporting Fellow for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at vhagan@gannett.com or on X @TheVictorHagan. To support his work, subscribe to the Advertiser.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Poll shows Democrat with 12-point lead in redrawn Alabama district
Alabama
Quilts of Valor brings comfort to Alabama veterans
Alabama
Alabama Trending Towards Securing Commitment from Elite Recruit
Nothing is set in stone just yet, but it’s looking like Alabama is going to build on its trenches.
According to On3 / Rivals’ National Recruiting Reporter Sam Spiegelman, the Crimson Tide are trending toward receiving a commitment from four-star 2027 interior offensive lineman Ismael Camara.
Should Alabama nab the talented recruit out of Gilmer, TX, it would be the second high-ranked interior lineman of the 2027 class.
Earlier this season, the Crimson Tide had secured a commitment from Jatori Williams, the four-star lineman out of Phenix City, AL, and one who is the fifth ranked player at his position in the country.
Camara spoke with Spiegelman and revealed that he, along with 20 other recruits will be in Tuscaloosa for the LSU game – a game that holds such importance.
Not only that, he spoke on the relationship that he holds with offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic, and how that relationship resonates with him.
“Coach Kap told me two things when we first talked — he has the best job in the world and that all the things he wants from his players are passion, a good attitude, maximum effort, being a good teammate, being prepared and available, and being coachable. That requires zero talent.”
He then went on to say how much the persistence in maintaining that relationship is something that he will always hold onto.
“I appreciate him investing in me like that, and I am trying to get better to live up to the standard at ‘Bama.”
The “Standard” is a real thing, and it’s not something that the brass take lightly. Nick Saban spent 17 seasons implementing a culture of greatness and players that have the dog in them to be great.
So Kalen DeBoer and his staff don’t want to lose sight of it. It may have been in question for a little, but for the time being, what you’re seeing is what you’re getting.
But the “Standard” is something that means a lot to Camara too, and it’s what has set apart Alabama from other schools.
“When we got into the facility and saw all the nattys, the SEC championships and Heisman Trophies, I really had the butterflies,” Camara said. “The way they treated each other and the way they treated me — it was not just an honor for me to be there, it was an honor for them to be there. They practiced like that. They operated like that. They hung together like that. That was when I really started to understand what makes Alabama ‘Bama,’”
Aside from it being a big game on the schedule, it’s a big game for the coaches take make sure the people they’re bringing in for the future know that the staff’s future is just the beginning for these young men.
Alabama
Alabama man charged with threatening synagogues, mosques
A Needham, Alabama man has been charged by federal prosecutors with making threats to rabbis and imams across the South.
Jeremy Wayne Shoemaker faces a charge of an interstate communications threat after investigators say he made multiple threatening calls and messages to Jewish and Muslim religious leaders.
The threats were made to rabbis in Alabama and Louisiana, an imam in Georgia, a church in North Carolina and more.
According to court documents, agents discovered multiple firearms in Shoemaker’s home as well as a suitcase containing ammunition and papers listing the names, addresses and phone numbers of religious leaders and other prominent figures.
Shoemaker told agents he did not intend to carry out an attack, but engage in “psychological warfare.”
An FBI agent attested that Shoemaker came to the department’s attention after making a series of threats including to a Mountain Brook rabbi earlier this month.
“I want you to die because you want the death of us,” Shoemaker said during one call. “You want the West to die off.”
The FBI agent also noted a 2024 threat from Shoemaker to an Islamic center in Louisiana, and a threatening message to a Georgia imam earlier this year.
U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama — and frontrunner for Alabama’s next governor — has recently drawn attention to the Muslim community, calling “radical Islam and Sharia Law … the greatest national security threat facing the United States.”
He also called Islam “fundamentally incompatible with our Western values.”
“So, wake up America. The Quran instructs Islamists to fight Jews and Christians, along with anyone else who doesn’t believe in Allah,” Tuberville said. “Simply put, Radical Islam teaches that it is righteous to kill Christians—[that] it’s righteous. There is no peaceful coexistence with this type of people. None.”
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