Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed officially endorsed Shomari Figures on Wednesday for election as representative of Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District.

The state capital is the largest city in the district, which also includes part of Mobile as part of a court-ordered reorganization of the district boundaries.

“He knows exactly what is at stake, from expanding access to health care to protecting the right to vote to ensuring a strong education system, creating jobs, helping to combat problems in our society and making sure we take care of our armed forces and our veterans,” Reed said.

Reed also considered running for the seat, but ultimately decided against it.

Numbers show that working with district leaders like Reed will be an important part of representing the district well.

He also emphasized the role of the civil rights movement and Montgomery’s history in making the campaign possible.

“This (opportunity) is something that came about because of the effort that took place here over 60 years ago, right here in Montgomery,” Figures said. “As I mentioned at the Democratic National Convention, Montgomery is the birthplace of the civil rights movement, and I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I think Montgomery is by far the most important American city of the 20th century because of the movement that originated here.”

Figures and Reed said the switch from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate also gave new momentum to the local election campaign for a variety of reasons.

“We noticed more volunteers coming forward to work on the campaign and more people knocking on doors and making phone calls with us,” Figures said.

Having a black woman at the top of the ballot resonates with the district’s voters, Figures said, pointing to the district’s civil rights history and figures like Rosa Parks.

Harris’ background as a member of a black Greek organization is another touchstone that many likely Democratic voters can identify with, Figures said.

In the new district, the proportion of black voters is just over 49 percent. A lawsuit had previously challenged two maps previously drawn up by the state because they violated the Voting Rights Act and deprived black voters of the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice.

“It’s up to us,” Figures said. “Our parents’ generation, our grandparents’ generation, fought to give us this right. They gave us the very laws that created this district.”

Figures is running against Republican candidate Caroleene Dobson in the November 5 general election.

In a statement to AL.com on Wednesday, Dobson congratulated Figures on receiving “the most obvious endorsement in the history of Alabama politics.”