Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures came into his job with “eyes wide open.”
Unlike most freshmen lawmakers, he had years of experience in Washington as an aide to former Sen. Sherrod Brown, deputy chief of staff to former Attorney General Merrick Garland and domestic director of presidential personnel in the Obama White House. He knew exactly what to expect from the city. Now as a congressman, he’s hoping to communicate to his constituents in Alabama that Washington isn’t just a “buzzword that doesn’t impact them.”
“What’s happening up here every single day is impacting real people in real ways, whether they know it or not; it’s our job to make sure that they’re getting that information,” Figures told NOTUS on a busy in-session day, as the bell announcing vote series rang in the background and visitors rotated through his office.
Though Figures said he is confident in Democratic leadership’s ability to prepare members for upcoming elections, he believes that a member-by-member approach is what it will take for Democrats to take back power in D.C.
“It’s up to the members of Congress individually. Leadership is very important, don’t get me wrong, and a unified front is very important,” Figures said. “But ultimately, there’s nobody in Congress that’s better situated to communicate and work with the people of your district than the person that’s represented that district and the person that’s already been through an election there.”
Figures was elected to represent a court-ordered district in Alabama where Black voters make up a substantial part of the electorate. He was one of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” candidates, and he beat out his Republican challenger by more than nine percentage points for Alabama’s redrawn 2nd Congressional District. The future of the district is still uncertain, but for now he’s joined the state’s congressional delegation as one of only two Democratic lawmakers.
Democrats acknowledge the limitations he faces since he is from a red state and part of the minority party.
“This is something totally new to him,” Alabama state Rep. Pebblin Warren told NOTUS. “Being a Democrat and being new going into the sea of red Republicans and trying to get things accomplished. I’m just not sure how successful he’s going to be. I know as a legislator in the state of Alabama, once you get into the red waters, it’s really hard to survive because they are overpowering.”
Still, Figures said he’s hopeful he can find areas to work with Republican members of the delegation on bipartisan issues. He said he’s currently working with Sen. Katie Britt to propose a grant program that would aim to reduce the damage that natural disasters could have on older infrastructure in the state.
Alabama Rep. Barry Moore says that he sees Figures on the House floor “pretty regularly” and that the two are in constant contact since their districts both cover parts of Mobile County. Moore, who served with Figures’ mother in the Alabama legislature, said the two have discussed transportation and national defense.
“There’s common sense solutions to Mobile County, to transportation issues with the Bayway Bridge,” Moore said regarding conversations he’s had with Figures on replacing the bridge. “Some bills that he’s working on, I think have some merit. And there’s some things I think that we can do to work together.”
Other Democrats from red states have given Figures the advice to stick to issues, and he wants to do that himself. During his campaign, Figures said, Medicaid was the “No. 1 priority.”
Alabama is one of 10 states that has not expanded Medicaid, and Figures helped introduce a bill aimed at expanding health care access for residents of states that haven’t done so. The program is receiving a lot of national attention as Republicans are looking at cuts and tying work requirements to Medicaid in their efforts to reduce spending by the federal government.
“We have rural hospitals that are closing at just an astronomically fast rate,” Figures said. “We’re losing far too many of them and too many of our communities are literally on the verge of not being able to have a hospital. That’s beyond just the health care access issues. It’s an economic issue of being able to recruit businesses or people to live and residents to be there and grow a tax base.”
Rep. Bennie Thompson, who’s known Figures since he was a kid, told NOTUS that Democrats are “thrilled” to have him in Congress. He added that Figures’ focus on issues like health care and education played a major role in him getting elected in his district.
“You have to be broad minded enough and strong enough that those core issues you have to stick with. Brother Figures will stick with the issues,” Thompson said.
Sen. Cory Booker told NOTUS he’s “happy” that Figures is in Congress and that his “energy” on the Hill will benefit the country.
“I hope he is one of the future faces [of the party],” Booker said. “I think his leadership has already shown you that he’s the present face too.”
As Figures sat in his new, sparsely decorated office with photos of his family on the cabinet behind his desk (he never was a “big office decorator,” he told NOTUS), he reflected on what the most surprising part of being a lawmaker is — adjusting to his title.
“One of the bigger challenges I have is getting out of the staffer mindset and letting the people that you trust and letting the people that have that expertise lead you to do the best that you can and best position the office,” Figures said. “By best positioning the office, you’re best positioning the district for success long term.”
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Torrence Banks is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.