Alabama District 2 race: House Democrats link Dobson, GOP candidates nationwide to Project 2025

The House campaign arm for the Democratic Party is continuing to link Republicans — including Alabama’s Caroleene Dobson — to the controversial Project 2025 policy proposal by a conservative think tank that aims to reshape the executive branch under a Republican president.

Billboards are being displayed this week in 27 congressional districts to highlight what the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee claims is a threat of health care to people with pre-existing conditions.

One of the billboards was installed Monday along U.S. 231, between Troy and Brundidge in South Alabama, and within the 2nd congressional district. The district offers a rare competitive General Election race for a U.S. House seat in Alabama pitting Republican Dobson against Democratic candidate Shomari Figures on Nov. 5.

The billboards will be appearing the same week that Dobson and Figures are set to square off Thursday for an online debate on AL.com’s Facebook and YouTube channels.

The 920-page Project 2025 document spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation criticizes the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid, which Alabama has long opted not to do despite repeated calls from Democratic politicians to do so. But according to fact checkers, the document advocates for making changes to the law rather than terminating ACCA and ridding health care for people with pre-existing conditions.

The DCCC, in its announcement of the billboard program, linked to a Center for American Progress article that criticizes Project 2025 for reversing consumer protections under federal health programs by privatizing Medicare.

“If Caroleene Hardee Dobson had her way, Americans would have their health care and reproductive freedom ripped away,” said Justin Chermol, a spokesperson for the DCCC. “Voters will hold Dobson accountable for prioritizing an extreme and dangerous Project 2025 agenda over Alabamians.”

The Dobson campaign, in a comment to AL.com Monday, reiterated past statements that she has never endorsed Project 2025.

Dobson told AL.com in early August that she is “wholly unfamiliar” with the policies in Project 2025 that involves 100 conservative groups including the Alabama Policy Institute. Figures has disputed Dobson’s statement, saying she knows what Project 2025 is and that her campaign aligns with the policies written throughout the massive document.

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“As AL.com reported two months ago, Caroleene has never read Project 2025, is unaware of what it contains, and has certainly never endorsed it,” said Drew Dickson, spokesperson for the campaign. “Like most Alabamians, her only awareness of it comes from the Democrats themselves in an attempt to conjure up fear among voters. The DCCC is spreading 100%, flat-out, bald-faced lies, and they, along with Shomari Figures, owe the voters of the Second Congressional District an apology.”

Republican Caroleene Dobson of Montgomery faces Democrat Shomari Figures of Mobile in the 2nd congressional district race during the Nov. 5, 2024, general election.John Sharp

Democrats have increasingly tried to link Republicans to the plan as their polling shows it to be one of the most potent attacks on the GOP. An NBC poll last month showed that 57% of registered voters report feel negatively about Project 2025, with 51% saying their views of the proposal is “very” negative. Only 4% of voters reported viewing the conservative policy plan positively.

Vice President Kamala Harris has also linked Project 2025 to former President Donald Trump, who has publicly distanced himself from the initiative. The Heritage Foundation’s policy platform was developed by people who served in Trump’s administration.