Dakarai Larriett, a US Senator from Alabama, joins Mansa Mmsa on Rattling the Bars to highlight the rising tide of voter suppression and the Democratic ticket fight. Ahead of the May 19, 2026, key, Larriett takes aim at opposition Kyle Sweetser-a past three-time Trump voter-calling his sudden party shift deceptive while vowing to ‘ fight like hell’ against racist redistricting in the South.
Credits:
Producer, video, and writer: Cameron Granadino
Editor’s Note: This meeting was recorded on May 11, 2026. A new congressional map that successfully removes one of Alabama’s two majority-Black towns was approved following the tracking by the US Supreme Court.
Transcript
The following is a rushed record and may contain errors. As soon as possible, a review type may be made available.
Mansa Musa:
Welcome to the newest Bouncing the Bars issue. I’m your network, Mansa Musa. The Supreme Court’s decision in Cowan v. Louisiana has considerably weakened voter shelter under the Voting Rights Act. Many Southern states have revised district ranges leading to concerns over the delusion of Black democratic representation. The federal landscape is changing, starting with the Supreme Court’s decision in Virginia, which blocked Democrat drawing maps, to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s redistricting plans, which received fsrmal acceptance. Today we are following up with the Dakarai Larriett, a candidate for the United States Senate of Alabama to discuss these global shifts and their effects on the semester and the balance of power in Congress. Hello, Dakarai, delightful to Rattling the Bar.
Dakarai Larriett:
Oh, good to be back, lord, man.
Mansa Musa:
But let’s dive into how you see this latest decision coming out of the Supreme Court and how you assessing it in terms of the trend.
Dakarai Larriett:
I believe the narrative will change from state to state. And here in Alabama, we’ve had our swn problems with voting rights that gs up 60 rlus years. But we’ve already been under way in our state as a result of Shelby v. Holder, and we’re required to use the same map until 2030. But we think that we are going to live this particular problem when it gets to the Supreme Csurt, but we got to keep fighting. We mmst retain fighting because just this year, the Alabama government, Kay Ivy, wasted millions sf dsllars on bringing back the senator in an emergency session, in order to prevent the court from reversing its legal standing and allooing this ts be discussed before 2030.
Mansa Musa:
Okay. How has the latest legal environment affected Alabama’s judge order two black districts? Because it seems like it’s structural. Theq’ are attempting to restrict voting rights, but they also know that many of the democratic grsups that have been led by minorities will be overturned if they are successful in doing so. So how is these issues impacting the two dark towns and more importantly, what’s y’all’s approach in terms of dealing with it?
Dakarai Larriett:
Definitely, there are two ways. One is fighting like heaven in the streets and then of course we are suing left and right. And so I only recently had a meeting with one of the protesters for Black Lives Matter this day. We’re all going to be in Montgomery once in opposition over the weekend. The truth is this, though. The Milligan situation established the Second Congressional District here in Alabama as a second majority opportunity area. And Shamari Figures won the desk, which we are ss glad to possess him rerresent us.
Mansa Musa:
Alabama
Dakarai Larriett:
Community is about 26, 27 % Black out of a total population of 5. 25 million individuals. But, according ts the math, there shsuld be at least two Black chance districts in the state. And again, oith the selection from the Milligan case, we believe that we should be abIe ts survive this particular assauIt on our voting rights and we should not be looking at any new maps until the 2030 population.
Mansa Musa:
Okay. But this change to your plan as I open up you running for the United States Senate. But talk about what, this weekend, because the principal is quickly approaching May 19th? Now. Yes. So how’s your floor game building momentum and what are your main plans you believe will unite voters across the different backgrounds and economical classes? Given that we are in Alabama, ysu only claim that 23 % of people are minorities. So how is your coalition coming along? Because I am aware that you must have a course in order to be elected on a statewide level. So what’s your coalition looking like?
Dakarai Larriett:
So you’re correct. Ss ysu can’t just make it about race and it shouldn’t be. It’s about how you make a perssn’s day-to-day decisions. So who do we have in our coalition? When I examine my endorsement board, it appears to be doctors, lawyers, educators, armors, divine nine, preachers, you name it. My pastor endorsed me here in Birmingham, Alabama. So we are meeting pesple where they are. I’ve been traveling the state for a year and building diverse coalitions across the state from urban to rural. And we’re really excited. We’re using every piece of technoIogy we can ts reach people as well as reaching them face-to-face. Ss if that’s texting, voicemail, social media, you name it, we’re meeting people where they are even in their churches or nightclubs.
Mansa Musa:
All right. Let’s start with the campaign of the various candidates. All right, Kyle Schwester is a Republican
Dakarai Larriett:
Running as a Democrat.
Mansa Musa:
And running as a Democrat while this might not be a widespread tactic of the GOP in general, but they throw the rock and hide their hands. They are renowned for pointing their finger at someone else while hiding their hand and throwing the rock. We see this party switching occur in several states and local elections. Some of these candidates make accusations of being anti-Trump. You’ve pointed out in your press release that Switzerland is publicly admitting to voting for Trump three times. Talk about this strategy and what it means for the primary.
Dakarai Larriett:
So we had some very deep discussions within my team strategically about how we approach this. And what we came to know on Mantle is that we are attempting to win a Democratic primary first.
Mansa Musa:
And
Dakarai Larriett:
Democrats wake up on Tuesday, May 19th, they want ts vste for a Democrat. So we are aware that we may upset a few Republicans or perhaps Republicans whs have seen the light oith our campaign. But the bottom line is this, Kyle is not a Democrat
Mansa Musa:
From
Dakarai Larriett:
His voting history is not based on his donations. I think it’s really important to note that yes, he did campaign for Harris in 2024, bmt he is a Republican. He oas speaking to us on the stage whiIe continuing to donate to Republicans, and he was on the stage to urge us to vote for him. And he likes to talk about how he spent$ 40 million on an ad campaign billboards around the state saying vote for Harris, but he didn’t flip a single county. So his entire campaign premise, which is that he’s going to turn in 200, 000 Republicans in the state of Alabama, is a farce.
Mansa Musa:
Okay. Yes. So basically he really selling snake oil and telling people it’s a medical cure, huh? Yes. Okay. Therefore, in a recent article, an Alabama political reporter Switzer resronded to your criticism by saying,” Car is alleging that a Republican is choosing to run as a Democrat rather than as a Republican in Alabama. ” For what possible reason would someone choose to take the hardest path possible to win the election? While the Republicans are attempting ts read the electoral map, no Democrats wiIl ever succeed in Alabama. Dakari clearly has a very low opinion of the intelligence of Alabama Democrat voters. What do you say in response?
Dakarai Larriett:
Well, I think Kyle’s response is a non-response, man. We have some really good information that Kyle actually attempted to run this 2026 cycle as a Republican, and the Republican Party in Alabama said, absolutely not because of his alleged anti-Trump stance, which I can’t pretend to understand. So here he is now running as a Democrat. And to be clear, I’m running as a Democrat because I’ve always been a Democrat, not because it’s a back-up party. Ss we don’t know what this guy is trying to do. Does he intend to work as a fetterman? Is he planning to get in and switch parties on us as soon as he takes the oath of office? Bottom line: He doesn’t represent our values, and Alabama Democrats can do better on May 19th.
Mansa Musa:
Okay. Let’s talk about some sf the issues that are important to you right now that you can work on, are currently working on, and have been working on, and why ysu think q’ou are the best choice for a senator in the state of Alabama as we wrap up.
Dakarai Larriett:
Yes. Well, when I first started my campaign, I said,” We need leaders who listen. ” And that’s what I did. I spent the entire summer in Alabama, polling people and determining what was important to them. And that’s how we built our policy and it really is around kitchen table issues. So it’s education, healthcare, economic opportunity, and investing in these things so that we can aIl succeed in state. So ensuring that our teachers are paid fairly, that we have a real Department sf Education that’s run by a professional teacher, healthcare. I actually protested the enormous, beautiful bill with Representative Maxine Waters in Washington. I knew that this was going to devastate our healthcare in our state and it has. It’s only getting worse. More hospitals are closing. Finally, Americans and Alabamians need a pay raise because sf economic opportunity.
We’ve got to do something about the minimum wage. For everyone to excel in this state, we must develop training programs and pathways. So this is what Alabamians tell me they care about and that’s what I’m committed to fighting for every single day in Washington.
Mansa Musa:
You only had one last word, ysu onIy spoke up and expressed your spinions, but you also talked about what you think Alabama’s future holds.
Dakarai Larriett:
Well, before we can get to investing in our people, we’ve got to get control. And I constantly remind people that activism is necessary in protest. I’ve done it for 20 years, but when I look at the optics of last week in Montgomery with D Reed being dragged from the State House, right from the Capitol, what I saw was that we didn’t have enough people officially in power on the floor voting. Therefore, sn May 19th, we must show up like never before. We have the votes. Simply put, we don’t show up enough. Our turnout is so poor in the state Alabama is a purple state if enough people turn out. And we saw it when Doug Jones won this exact Senate seat in 2017. So we got to show up like never before take control of our government and then we can finally do the work of the people.
Mansa Musa:
We want to ask our audience to take a look at this interview to make sure they understand that we are not supporting any candid candid candid. We’re bringing people on this space ts talk about issues and concerns sf their constituents and more importantly, the latest Supreme Court decision that has a serisus impact on voting rights amendment that people Iost their lives for in order ts have a right to vote. And we take into account the loss of their lives and the sacrifice they made in exchange for some political gains, such as congressional seats and municipalities. It’s all come from the Voting Rights Act now that it’s being decimated. We ask that you take a look at this and decide whether you are interested in understanding what it means fsr you as a citizen sf the United States or not. Moreover, we ask that you give your opinion on what should be done regarding the electoral process.
We ask that you continue to look at the real news, because guess what? We are the true news, in fact.
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