Republican Caroleene Dobson conceded to Democrat Shomari Figures in Alabama’s Congressional District 2 race Tuesday night.

“We knew that the courts had given the other team a home-field advantage,” Dobson said. “We ran a strong race, and we talked about issues that matter most to Alabama families.”

Figures led Dobson, 54.5% to 45.5%, with 96% of the votes in, according to the Associated Press. The district was redrawn in 2023 following a long redistricting fight that made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Dobson, an attorney from Montgomery, thanked her supporters in her concession speech at Fort Whiting in downtown Mobile on Tuesday night. She campaigned heavily in Mobile, and her watch party was coordinated with the Mobile County chapter of the Republican Party.

She encouraged others to run for office.

“We need more citizen servants who run not because they want to make Washington their career, but because they are dedicated to serving others, and working toward a better day for all Alabamians,” Dobson said during her speech.

Dobson ran on a conservative platform, though she sought to moderate some of her positions in a district predicted to favor Democrats. She said Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and the state legislature should “examine” expanding Medicaid to address the state’s rural healthcare crisis, a major issue in District 2.

She sought to portray Figures as a Washington insider out of step with Alabama residents.

“We don’t need more Washington representing Alabama,” Dobson said during a debate between the two candidates hosted by AL.com.

Dobson was backed by the state’s Republican leaders, including Ivey, who campaigned with her in Montgomery on Sunday. She was endorsed by the Alabama Farmers Federation for Congress and the Alabama Forestry Association.

Alabama’s Congressional Districts map was redrawn in 2023 after a panel of federal judges ruled that the map drawn by the state legislature violated the Voting Rights Act. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the state must redraw its congressional map earlier that year.

Districts 1 and 2 were significantly redrawn; District 2 is considered an “opportunity district” for Black voters to elect a candidate of their choosing. Black residents make up roughly one fourth of the state’s population.

National analysts labeled the District 2 seat as “likely Democratic.” District 2 is 48.7% Black, under the map approved by the judges.

This was Dobson’s first time running for political office. A native of Monroe County, she currently lives in Montgomery and is a real estate attorney with Maynard Nexsen law firm.

The district was seen as an opportunity for Republicans nationally; the National Republican Congressional Committee added Dobson to its list of “Young Gun” candidates that would receive additional support in the 2024 race.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee entered the race in May in support of Figures.