Agriculture Policy Fuels Close Alabama Congressional Race
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Agriculture policy fuels close Alabama congressional race
By Katie Ring | Published: Oct. 15, 2026 at 12:46 AM GMT+2 | Updated: 19 hours ago
Less than three weeks before Election Day, polls show the race between Rhett Marques and Shomari Figures remains too close to call.
Republican congressional candidate Rhett Marques visited a Dale County farm Wednesday morning, accompanied by Georgia Congressman Austin Scott, a Republican.
Scott pledged to advocate for Marques to be placed on the House Agriculture Committee if elected, highlighting the significant influence Marques could have on national agricultural policy.
"I’m going to do everything I can to put him on the Ag Committee. He’s going to have a tremendous amount of influence on the Ag policy in the United States... and I know he’s going to do a great job for the state of Alabama," Scott said.
Marques used the farm visit to criticize Figures, accusing him of voting against legislation that would have aided farmers, specifically the farm bill. Figures, a first-term incumbent, sits on the Agriculture Committee. He has previously stated his vote against the bill was not to hurt farmers but due to other language in the bill falling short for others, including rural healthcare.
Marques promised to work with Scott and the Agriculture Committee to pass the farm bill, emphasizing food security as national security. He also called for another bridge assistance payment for farmers to address rising input costs.
Scott agreed, stating, "The short-term issue will be getting another bridge assistance payment to the farmers. Commodity prices have not kept up with input costs."