Who is Shomari Figures? Meet Alabama’s New Congressman
Shomari Figures, a Democrat, was elected in November 2024 to represent Alabama’s newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District, becoming the state’s second Black member of Congress, alongside Rep. Terri Sewell. Born into a family with deep roots in civil rights and public service, Figures is the son of the late Alabama State Senator Michael Figures and current State Senator Vivian Davis Figures.
He earned his law degree from the University of Alabama and has an extensive background in public service, including roles in the administrations of both Presidents Obama and Biden.
During his campaign, Figures emphasized several key issues:
- Healthcare: He advocated for expanding Medicaid in Alabama to increase access to healthcare, particularly in rural communities. Figures highlighted the state’s low life expectancy and high maternal mortality rates, especially among Black mothers and infants, as critical concerns.
- Education: Figures expressed a commitment to improving educational opportunities, though specific policy proposals were not detailed in the available sources.
- Economy: He focused on creating economic opportunities and addressing systemic issues at the state level that contribute to economic struggles.
- Voting Rights: Figures invoked voting rights legislation during his campaign, reflecting his commitment to protecting and expanding access to the ballot box.
During the debates, Figures and his opponent, Republican Caroleene Dobson, clashed on various issues, including abortion and immigration. Figures supported personal choice regarding abortion and criticized fearmongering in immigration discussions. He shared his in-laws’ immigrant success story to emphasize the positive contributions that immigrants make.
As he begins his term, Figures is expected to prioritize legislation focused on improving healthcare access, fostering economic development, and protecting voting rights. He aims to fulfill his campaign commitments to enhance the quality of life for his constituents in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District.
New North Carolina Governor’s Cabinet is Sworn In
Today, ten members of Governor Josh Stein’s cabinet were sworn into office.
“My cabinet secretaries are ready to hit the ground running to make North Carolina safer and stronger,” said Governor Josh Stein. “I am grateful that this talented team has agreed to serve our state, and I look forward to working together to make our home state an even better place to live, work, and raise a family.”
The following secretaries were sworn into the Governor’s Cabinet:
- Department of Adult Correction: Leslie Cooley Dismukes, who previously served as the Criminal Bureau Chief at the North Carolina Department of Justice.
- Department of Commerce: Lee Lilley, who previously served as the Director of Economic and Pandemic Recovery and as Director of Legislative Affairs.
- Department of Environmental Quality: D. Reid Wilson, who previously served as the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and as Chief of Staff to the Administrator of the EPA.
- Department of Information Technology: Teena Piccione, who previously served in leadership roles at Google, RTI International, Fidelity Investments, and AT&T.
- Department of Military and Veteran Affairs: Jocelyn Mitnaul Mallette, who is an Air Force veteran, third-generation service member, and former partner at an international law firm.
- Department of Public Safety: Eddie Buffaloe, Jr, who has served as secretary of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety since 2021 and previously served as a law enforcement officer for 30 years, including nine years as Elizabeth City Police Chief.
- Department of Revenue: McKinley Wooten, Jr., who brings more than 30 years of public service experience, including most recently as the Assistant Secretary for Tax Processing, Research & Equity at the North Carolina Department of Revenue.
- Office of State Budget and Management: Kristin Walker, who currently leads the Office of State Budget and Management as State Budget Director.
- Office of State Human Resources: Staci Meyer, who served as Chief Deputy Secretary at the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and as a Special Deputy Attorney General at the North Carolina Department of Justice.
- Department of Transportation: Joey Hopkins, who has worked at the Department of Transportation for more than 30 years, including as Secretary, chief operating officer, deputy chief engineer, and division engineer.
The remaining members of Governor Stein’s cabinet are below.
- Department of Administration: Gabe Esparza, who brings over 25 years of experience leading both public and private entities, including serving as Associate Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Secretary Esparza will be sworn in on January 11.
- Department of Health and Human Services: Dev Sangvai, who is a professor of family medicine, pediatrics, and psychiatry at the Duke University School of Medicine, is currently president of the North Carolina Medical Board, and was President of Duke Regional Hospital. Secretary Sangvai will be sworn in on January 12.
- Department of Natural and Cultural Resources: Pam Cashwell, who previously served as Secretary at the North Carolina Department of Administration, as Chief Deputy Secretary in the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, and as Assistant Director at the North Carolina State Ethics Commission. Secretary Cashwell was sworn in on Friday, January 3.
Statement of Chairman Michael Guest Regarding the Ethics Committee’s Release of the Report Regarding Former Representative Gaetz
Statement of Chairman Michael Guest Regarding the Ethics Committee’s Release of the Report Regarding Former Representative Gaetz
Washington, D.C. – Chairman Michael Guest released the following statement:
“I believe, have publicly stated, and remain steadfast in the position that the House Committee on Ethics lost jurisdiction to release to the public any substantive work product regarding Mr. Gaetz after his resignation from the House on November 14, 2024.
While I do not challenge the Committee’s findings, I did not vote to support the release of the report and I take great exception that the majority deviated from the Committee’s well-established standards and voted to release a report on an individual no longer under the Committee’s jurisdiction, an action the Committee has not taken since 2006.
Representative Gaetz resigned from Congress, withdrew from consideration to serve in the next administration, and declared that he would not seek to be seated in the 119th Congress. The decision to publish a report after his resignation breaks from the Committee’s long-standing practice, opens the Committee to undue criticism, will be viewed by some as an attempt to weaponize the Committee’s process, and is a dangerous departure with potentially catastrophic consequences.”
Congressman Michael Guest represents Mississippi’s Third Congressional District. Currently serving his third term, Congressman Guest serves as the Chairman of the Committee on Ethics. He is also a member of the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Homeland Security.
A Closer Look at North Carolina’s Bluest Counties
As the clock ticks down to 2024 Election Day, North Carolina is arguably the most problematic swing state for political analysts and pollsters to predict an electoral outcome confidently. Even before Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc on North Carolina’s residents and infrastructure, the Tarheel State’s regional differences posed unique challenges for former President Donald Trump to prevent Kamala Harris from flipping the state blue.
Trump eeked out a win over Biden by 1.4% in 2020, with 50.1% of the vote to Biden’s share of 48.7%. Throughout Biden’s re-election campaign, Trump enjoyed a polling lead average that was around 5% most months. Since Biden’s exit and Kamala Harris entrance, the most recent polls show Harris with a small lead or in a virtual tie with Trump.
In statewide races, Democrats haven’t won a US Senate seat or won the majority of votes for president since 2008, but North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper is a Democrat who upset incumbent Republican Gov. Pat McCrory in 2016, and held off Republican Lt. Governor Dan Forest in 2020, despite a firebrand conservative Republican, Mark Robinson, being elected as Forest’s successor as Lieutenant Governor. In this cycle, Robinson is running for Cooper’s vacant seat as a heavy underdog against current North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, who has maintained a double-digit lead over Robinson in major polls throughout the majority of the race.
On social issues, most of the rural counties are comprised of conservative Christian Republicans, yet North Carolina is the one that started the national debate over opening women’s bathrooms to transgender individuals. Democrats can rely on strong support for social issues in Charlotte and college towns.
North Carolina’s demographics can be analyzed in 4 different sections
- Western North Carolina: Home to the majority of rural voters who reliably vote conservative but two counties that are heavily populated by academic professionals and college students who typically vote Democratic. (Similar to Leon County and Alachua County in Florida, home to Florida State University and the University of Florida, respectively.)
- The Research Triangle: A mixture of academia and medical professionals.
- Charlotte Metro Area: The largest city in the state, which votes for Democrats by a reliably wide margin. Despite the fact that the city is home to major banks, it remains a dark blue region since many of fiscal conservatives who work in the banking industry commute from South Carolina, just south the state’s border.
- Eastern North Carolina: Tourism thrives along the coastal community, along with upstart small businesses launched by young investors in cities such as Wilmington.
An influx of former New York residents also complicates the grand picture. More North Carolina transplants were born in New York than in any other state. Since the COVID pandemic, Democratic strongholds gained the most new residents from New York. Mecklenburg County is home to the state’s largest city, Charlotte, where Biden won more than twice as many votes as Trump in 2020, with 66.9% of the vote to Trump’s 31.7%). Mecklenburg has the most residents who are natives of New York, with approximately 87.7 thousand in the most recent count by UNC Chapel Hill’s Carolina Population Center.
When the Rochester, NY-based chain Wegmans opened its first store in Raleigh, more than 3,000 people lined up for the grand opening.
Throughout North Carolina, 46% of all residents were born outside North Carolina — accounting for nearly 5 million people, according to Carolina Demography at the University of North Carolina. Of those, about 10% (about 518,000 people) were born in New York, the leading birthplace of those born outside North Carolina.
By comparison, in 1980, about 23% of residents were born outside North Carolina.
Wake County, home to Raleigh and North Carolina State University (NCSU), has the second-highest number of NY natives, with approximately 78.7K. In 2020, Biden got 62.5% of the votes, while Trump got 35.9%. Wake County is part of the region known as “The Research Triangle”, neighbored by Orange County and Durham County, where UNC’s campus overlaps. Duke University is located in Durham, just over 10 miles northeast of UNC. If you combine that number with Orange and Durham counties, the Research Triangle, as a whole, would be No. 1, Nathan Dollar, director of Carolina Demography, told Axios.
Counties with the next largest shares of new residents include:
- Guilford County: Biden won by just over 23 points, 61% to 37.8%
- Forsyth County: Biden won by just under 14 points, 56.3% to 42.4%,
- Harnett County: Trump won by 22.5 points, 60.5% to 38%.
One of the most closely-contested counties is Pasquotank County. In 2020, Biden won with 49.5% of the vote to Trump’s 49.2%, with third party candidates getting the remainder.
EDUCATION LEVELS AND THE “DIPLOMA DIVIDE”:
Across the nation, education level is the new leading indicator of a voter’s intent to vote for Trump or Harris. The Lumina Foundation has a report that uses census data to rank states by educational attainment, including post-high school certifications and associate degrees. It’s true that most of the battlegrounds – Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin in the Rust Belt and Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona in the Sun Belt – all fall near the average. There is also one important exception. Nevada, which is a battleground state, has one of of the lowest levels of educational attainment in the US. While most of the states with the highest educational attainment are blue states in the northeast, Utah, a red state, is also near the top of the list.
According to federal data released by Lumina Foundation, Adults in North Carolina are earning more degrees and credentials. Lumina’s annual Stronger Nation report shows 54.4% of working-age adults (ages 25 to 64) in North Carolina have earned a postsecondary degree or credential of value, roughly equivalent to the national attainment rate of 54.3%. The report is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey in 2022.
North Carolina’s credential attainment rate increased 2.3%, making it one of three states along with Washington, D.C. to see an increase of at least 2% from 2021 to 2022. Since 2009, North Carolina’s educational attainment rate for 25 to 64 year-olds has increased by 16.5%.
Blue Counties that will play a pivotal role in the 2024 Election:
Watauga County is 83% white, but Biden won by 8.3 points, 53.3% to 45%. It is home to Appalachian State University, and was one of the counties that was hit the hardest by Hurricane Helene.
Buncombe County: As many Americans recently learned from tragic Hurricane Helene footage, Buncombe County is home to Asheville, and is a deep blue county, where Biden defeated Trump by more than 20 points, earning 59.74 of the vote to Trump’s 38.64, and the remaining voters opting for a third party candidate or not voting for any presidential candidate. Asheville, often described as a “deep blue spot in a dark red state”, could be considered North Carolina’s version of Austin, Texas. Eleven colleges are located in the Asheville metro area, and US Census data shows 48.3% of Buncombe County residents have attained a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education.
Hoke County: This county went blue by double digits in 2020, with Biden earning 54.6% of the vote to Trump’s 43.8% and the remainder voting for a third party or not voting for president. Approximately 40.4% of the county is white, 32.2 percent as black, 14.8 percent as Hispanic or Latino, and 7 percent as Native American, remarkably higher than most counties across the nation. According to the 2021 American Community Survey, an estimated 19.8 percent of county residents have attained a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education.
Pitt County has voted blue since 2008. In 2020, Biden won by just under a ten-point margin, with 54.1% of the vote to Trump’s 44.6%. The county’s racial demographics are 51% white, 35% black, and hispanics make up 8% of residents. According to US Census data, 33.1% of Pitt County residents have attained a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education.
Will Virginia’s Vote for President Disappear?
As anyone with an email address or cell phone knows, Republicans and Democrats have ramped up their November battle.
The near-term focus has meant Democrats concentrating on Getting Out the Vote and Republicans placing a new emphasis on Election Integrity.
What conservatives are ignoring, however, is the Left’s look over the horizon with a progressive plan to ensure future Republican presidential defeats.
That plan and its future implications will be discussed by Save Our States Distinguished Fellow Michael Maibach at an October 1 Federal Policy Dinner in Tysons Corner. You can register by clicking here.
The progressive National Popular Vote proposal would make Virginia part of an interstate compact in which Virginia would be forced to give its Electoral College votes to whoever wins the national popular vote – regardless of how Virginians vote in future presidential elections.
With more than half of America’s population in just nine states, it would mean Virginians cede their decision to states like California, New York, Illinois, and Michigan. New York City alone, with a population larger than 39 states, would have an outsized influence on choosing the president.
This is precisely one of the reasons America’s Founding Fathers organized presidential elections with an Electoral College: To prevent the power of larger states from overwhelming the influence of smaller ones.
That balance has worked well for 237 years, even if the victor didn’t always receive the most votes. Five times, presidents have been elected with less than a plurality; 19 times with less than a majority … including John Quincy Adams, John F. Kennedy, Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman and a fellow named Abraham Lincoln.
Now ostensibly, the case being made by progressives is one of fairness: Americans should be able to vote directly for their president.
But few Western nations offer that opportunity. Of the 27 European Union countries, only two – Cypress and France — provide for direct elections. The others utilize a parliamentary system in which the head of government is chosen based on the composition of that nation’s legislature: Winston Churchill was never on the ballot for Prime Minister.
Direct popular elections have instead been the domain of such countries as Iran, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Russia, and a host of smaller countries.
Those looking to “democratize” the election would more appropriately duplicate Maine and Nebraska’s “split-vote model,” allocating one electoral vote to whoever wins each congressional district. Yes, the Republican nominee would gain some electoral votes in places like California and New York, but the Democratic nominee would garner electoral votes in states like Alabama and Texas.
But don’t hold your breath. Fairness isn’t the Left’s goal. Victory is … and at all costs.
That’s why Maibach’s talk on October 1 is so important.
NPV organizers are trying to dramatically tear up the method of electing a President without even first obtaining the benefit of a national legislative consensus or even agreement by a majority of states.
A system created by the U.S. Constitution would be ripped apart without going through the annoying trouble of changing the Constitution. Their proposal simply requires a majority of states, representing 271 electoral votes, to agree to give their electoral votes to whoever gets the most national votes.
It’s a proposal guaranteed to exacerbate divisions in the country.
And it will be even worse to administer. Because it does not set a uniform standard and has none of the rules, guidelines, and protections that would exist in a truly nationalized election, results will set off a flurry of lawsuits.
In Virginia, for example, early voting started last Friday. But California early voting does not start until October 7; New York starts October 26. Will voters whose votes have been turned over to a majority decision made in other states have legal standing to sue? Will the type of voting machines state “A” uses give cause to further legal action by residents of state “B” using a different machine, since their votes will now have been decided by a state with different rules and different machines? Will recounts now have to be conducted not in one state but in all states?
If you liked the 2000 Florida recount or the accusations of a stolen election in 2020, you’ll love what the National Popular Vote scheme will do.
Yet, they are close. NPV organizers have secured changes in 18 states representing 209 electoral votes. Here in Virginia, it’s been introduced by Delegate Dan Helmer (D-Clifton). When enough states change their law to guarantee 271 electoral votes, the trigger will be pulled to impose the process on the country.
Trump supporters who contend the 2020 election was stolen haven’t provided the evidence. But in state after state, the election process was legally altered by, before the vote, changing laws and regulations governing those elections – usually without objection from the Republican Party or even the Trump White House. To paraphrase George Washington Plunkitt of Tammany Hall: “They seen their opportunities and they took ‘em.”
Progressives are thinking strategically, looking ahead not at this election but future ones, seeing their opportunities and taking them. Conservatives need to do the same, gather their arguments and make plans to stop the game plan before it moves farther.
Maibach will outline the threat and the strategy at the Thomas Jefferson Institute’s Federal Policy Dinner on October 1. It’s a good place to start fighting back.
Chris Braunlich is Senior Advisor and former President of the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. In a past life he was Deputy Commissioner of the Nassau County (NY) Board of Elections. He may be reached at chris@thomasjeffersoninst.org.
AP Omits Crucial Context from Florida Primary Election Results to Frame an Anti-DeSantis Narrative
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis endorsed 23 different school board candidates for the 2024 Florida Primary Election, including several who opposed incumbents in districts where demographics and past election data indicated the odds were heavily in favor of re-election for sitting board members.
While it’s true that DeSantis’ win-to-loss margin was smaller than in previous cycles, the losses occurred in districts where conservatives have rarely enjoyed success, including the Democratic stronghold of Palm Beach and the blue sections of Hillsborough (Tampa) and Pinellas (St. Petersburg). Ironically, the only reason that some of those candidates were considered to have a fighting chance is because of DeSantis’ remarkable feat of flipping Hillsborough and other formerly blue counties to red during his landslide victory two years ago over Charlie Crist, all while Democrats in other states greatly exceeded election expectations. In Pinellas County, School Board District 1 votes county-wide.
Context and nuance are critical components of election analysis. In Florida, judicial and school board candidates compete in non-partisan primaries.
Many voters don’t devote as much time to researching candidates in races considered “low profile” compared to candidates running for federal and state representative seats. As a result, many voters aren’t aware of a few key differences between school board candidate campaigns compared to others.
As a result of the format, many voters aren’t as informed about the political backgrounds and stances of school board candidates. School board candidates are allowed to express their political views throughout their campaigns, but as far as the ballot and primary election process is concerned, they aren’t associated with a particular party. In other words, a school board candidate who is registered to vote as a Republican still must compete in the primary election against candidates who could be registered to vote as a Democrat.
In a school board race with more than two candidates, a school board candidate must get 50% of the vote in order to win and avoid the general election. If no candidate reaches 50%, then the two candidates with the highest percentage of votes advance to the general election, where they could face an opponent who may be a fellow party member, a member of the opposing party, or an independent.
Despite all the facts mentioned above, the Associated Press framed the unsurprising outcomes as a new rebuke of Ron DeSantis.
A Major Factor Political Pundits Have Overlooked in Trump vs. Harris
Death and taxes are certain, but the so-called experts and analysts covering the 2024 Presidential have ignored the impact that death among Baby Boomers will make on Donald Trump’s effort to defeat Kamala Harris for a second, non-consecutive term as the United States Commander in Chief.
Trump’s campaign can’t ignore the fact that baby boomers have been replaced by younger generations as the largest voting group in America.
Members of the baby boomer generation are dying while thousands of young voters register daily. Millennials became the largest generation group in the U.S. in 2023, with an estimated population of 72.7 million. Approximately 15 million baby boomers have died since 2016. That’s a landslide-making dropoff when you also consider the fact that Millennials now constitute the largest election-day active voting block in 2024, and Generation Z adds thousands of new voters to the rolls each day.
Regardless of which survey, study, or poll you pick from the past eight years, the most reliable base of Trump supporters has been elderly voters who are categorized among the Baby Boom era (Those born between 1946-1964) and “The Silent Generation”, born between 1928-1945. Generation X’s timeline is debatable, thanks to the recent addition of “X-Ennials”, who were in high school as the internet became common in most American households, but the oldest among Generation X will turn sixty within the next two years. The youngest Millennials have been of voting age for the better part of a decade, and more than 40 million Generation Z Americans are currently registered to vote.
Generation X-ers are less religious than their parents, and as they become seniors, their comparatively left-of-center perspectives will change the dynamics for conservative candidates who have counted on elderly white Christians as reliable Republican voters.
- Harris is leading former President Donald Trump by nearly 20 points among registered voters under 30, according to The New York Times/Siena College poll.
- An Axios/Generation Lab poll of voters under 35 showed the same margin of victory.
Another trend that should create even more concern for Trump is that Harris is expected to easily surpass Biden’s youth vote turnout in 2020 when Biden still managed to win young voters by a solid 25-points. Some data experts said the increase in younger voter participation was the specific reason three states swung from red to blue, and in the 2020 Georgia Senate runoff, among 220,000 newly registered voters, almost half were under the age of 30, and those under 30 voted Democrat by a 31-point margin.
Vote.org, a nonpartisan registration platform, saw more than 38,500 people register to vote in the two days after Harris announced she’d run. By last Friday, they had surpassed 100,000 new registrants. Within 48 hours of Biden stepping down, approximately 40,000 new voters had registered, and over 80% of these voters are under the age of 35.
Even when Trump’s approval rating was at its highest levels during his first year in office, his support among voters under the age of 40 typically ranged between 12 to 15 points lower than voters over the age of 40.