Jemma Stephenson, Alabama Reflector
Rep. Jeremy Gray, D-Opelika, jumped into the 2nd Congressional District race on Thursday, becoming the third Democratic member of the Legislature to enter the contest.
Gray, first elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2018, cited issues including reliable housing, childcare, and women’s rights in an announcement on Facebook.
“It’s time for a new generation of leadership to bend the arc of justice,” the statement said. “Because the American Dream should be a promise, not a privilege.”
In a video accompanying donation requests, Gray also cited his legislation that allowed yoga exercises to be performed in Alabama schools, ending a nearly three-decade-long ban.
Gray, a business owner and personal trainer, played college football for North Carolina State University and later played in the Canadian Football League and Arena Football League.
A federal court last month approved new congressional maps for the state. The map created a new 2nd Congressional District with a Black Voting Age Population of 48.7%. Due to the racial polarization of Alabama’s voting patterns – where white Alabamians tend to vote Republican and Black Alabamians tend to vote Democratic – the district is seen as a potential pick-up for Democrats.
Sen. Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery, and Rep. Napoleon Bracy, D-Prichard, have also said they will run for the seat. Democrats Terrell Anderson, Phyllis Harvey-Hall, and Austin Vigue are also running for the seat. Attorney Caroleene Dobson is running on the Republican side.
House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, and Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham, have also said they may enter the race. Former Sen. Dick Brewbaker of Pike Road, a Republican, is also considering a run.
The 2nd Congressional District includes Montgomery and the southern Black Belt.
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