Alabama US Senate candidate Dakarai Larriett joins Mansa Musa on Rattling the Bars to expose the rising tide of voter suppression and the battle for the Democratic ticket. Ahead of the May 19, 2026, primary, Larriett takes aim at opponent Kyle Sweetser—a former three-time Trump voter—calling his sudden party shift disingenuous while vowing to ‘fight like hell’ against racist redistricting in the South.
Credits:
Producer / Videographer / Editor: Cameron Granadino
Editor’s Note: This interview was recorded on May 11, 2026. Following the recording, a US Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for Alabama to implement a new congressional map that effectively dismantles one of the state’s two majority-Black districts.
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Mansa Musa:
Welcome to this edition of Rattling the Bars. I’m your host, Mansa Musa. Since the Supreme Court decision in Louisiana versus Cowan, significantly weakening protection under the Voting Rights Act. Several Southern states have redrawn district lines leading to concerns over the delusion of Black political representation. From the Supreme Court decision in Virginia, striking down Democrat drawing maps to Texas Governor Greg Abbott redistricting plans, receiving formal approval, the national landscape is shifting. Today we are following up with the Dakarai Larriett, a candidate for the United States Senate of Alabama to discuss these nationwide shifts and their impact on the midterm and the balance of power in Congress. Dakarai, welcome to Rattling the Bar.
Dakarai Larriett:
Oh, good to be back, man, sir.
Mansa Musa:
So 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:
Well, I think the story’s going to be different state by state. And here in Alabama, we’ve had our own issues with voting rights that go back 60 plus years. So here in our state, we’ve already been under direction due to Shelby versus Holder that we have to use the same map until 2030. So we think that we are going to survive this particular challenge when it gets to the Supreme Court, but we got to keep fighting. We got to keep fighting because just this week the Alabama governor, Kay Ivy brought back the legislator in an emergency session, wasted millions of dollars and essentially they brought up the old racist maps just in case the court decides to be lawless again and open this up for discussion before 2030.
Mansa Musa:
Okay. So how has the current legal climate impacted Alabama’s court order two black districts? Because it seems like it’s systemic. They trying to roll back voting rights, but they also, if they are successful in doing what they’re doing, a lot of the electoral gangs that have been accomplished by minorities is going to be reversed. So how is these things impacting the two black districts and more importantly, what’s y’all’s strategy in terms of dealing with it?
Dakarai Larriett:
We have really two pathways. One is fighting like hell in the streets and then of course we are suing left and right. And so I just met with one of the Black Lives Matter activists this morning. We’re all going to be in Montgomery again in protest over the weekend. But the bottom line is this. The Milligan case established the Second Congressional District here in Alabama as a second minority opportunity district. And Shamari Figures won that seat and we are so happy to have him there representing us.
Mansa Musa:
Alabama
Dakarai Larriett:
Population is about 26, 27% Black out of a overall population of 5.25 million people. So when you do the math, we should have at least two Black opportunity districts in the state. And again, with the decision from the Milligan case, we believe that we should be able to survive this particular assault on our voting rights and we should not be looking at any new maps until the 2030 census.
Mansa Musa:
Okay. So let’s shift to your campaign as I open up you running for the United States Senate. So talk about, because the primary is fastly approaching May the 19th, that’s like what, this weekend? Today. Yeah. So how’s your ground game building momentum and what are your core policies you believe will unite voters across the different backgrounds and economic classes? Because we are in Alabama and you just say 23% of the population is minorities. So how is your coalition coming along? Because I know in order to get elected on a statewide level, you have to have a course. So what’s your coalition looking like?
Dakarai Larriett:
So you’re right. So you can’t just make it about race and it shouldn’t be. It’s about how you impact people in their daily lives. So who do we have in our coalition? When I look at my endorsement board, it is doctors, it is lawyers, educators, armors, divine nine, you name it, preachers. My pastor endorsed me here in Birmingham, Alabama. So we are meeting people 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 technology we can to reach people as well as reaching them face-to-face. So if that’s texting, voicemail, social media, you name it, we are meeting people where they are even in their churches or in their nightclubs.
Mansa Musa:
All right. Nan, let’s talk about the campaign in different 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 famous for throwing the rock and hide their hand, pointing the finger to somebody else. We see this party switching occur in several states and local elections. Some of these candidates claim 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 landed on Mantle is that we are trying to win a Democratic primary first
Mansa Musa:
And
Dakarai Larriett:
Democrats wake up on Tuesday, May 19th, they want to vote for a Democrat. So we realize we’re going to upset a few Republicans or maybe Republicans that have seen the light with our campaign. But the bottom line is this, Kyle is not a Democrat
Mansa Musa:
From
Dakarai Larriett:
His voting history, not from his donation history. I think it’s really important to note that yes, he did campaign for Harris in 2024, but he is a Republican. He was on the stage telling us to vote for Harris and he continued donating to Republicans. 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 whole premise of his campaign that he’s going to flip 200,000 Republicans in the state of Alabama is a farce.
Mansa Musa:
Okay. Yeah. So basically he really selling snake oil and telling people it’s a medical cure, huh? Sure. Okay. So in a recent article, an Alabama political reporter Switzer responded to your criticism saying, “Car is alleging that a Republican is choosing to run as a Democrat instead as a Republican in Alabama. For what possible reason would someone choose to take the hardest path possible to win the election? All while the Republicans are in special session trying to read electoral map so no Democrats can win in Alabama ever. Dakari clearly has a very low opinion of the intelligence of Alabama Democrat voters. What’s your response?
Dakarai Larriett:
Well, I think Kyle’s response is a non-response, man. I mean, my goodness, I can’t pretend to understand what his ulterior motives are, but we have some really good intelligence that Kyle actually tried to run this 2026 cycle as a Republican and the Republican Party in the state of Alabama said, absolutely not, because of his anti-Trump alleged stance. So here he is now running as a Democrat. And I want to be clear, I’m running as a Democrat because I’m a lifelong Democrat, not because it’s a backup party. So we don’t know what this guy is trying to do. Is he planning to be a fetterman? Is he planning to get in and switch parties on us as soon as he takes the oath of office? But the bottom line is he doesn’t represent our values and Alabama Democrats can do better this May 19th.
Mansa Musa:
Okay. So as we wrap up, let’s talk about some of the issues that are important to you that you can currently work, that you are currently working on, have been working on and why you believe you are the best choice for a senator in the state of Alabama.
Dakarai Larriett:
Yes. Well, when I started my campaign, I said, “We need leaders who listen.” And that’s what I did. I spent all of last summer traveling the state, polling Alabamians and figuring out what mattered to them. And that’s how we built our policy and it really is around kitchen table issues. So it’s education, it’s healthcare, it’s economic opportunity and investing in these areas so that we can all excel here in state. So ensuring that our teachers are paid fairly, that we have a real Department of Education that’s run by a professional teacher, healthcare. I actually went to Washington and protested the big beautiful bill right shoulder to shoulder with Representative Maxine Waters. 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. And then finally, economic opportunity, Americans, Alabamians need a pay raise.
We’ve got to do something about the minimum wage. We’ve got to create training programs and pathways for everyone to excel in this state. 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 had the last word, you just articulated your views, but talk about what you see the future of Alabama looking like.
Dakarai Larriett:
Well, before we can get to investing in our people, we’ve got to get control. And this is what I tell people all the time is protesting activism has its place. 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. So we’ve got to show up like never before on May 19th. We have the votes. We just 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 that in 2017 when Doug Jones won this very same Senate seat. 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 look at this interview and understand that we’re not endorsing no candid. We’re bringing people on this space to talk about issues and concerns of their constituents and more importantly, the latest Supreme Court decision that has a serious impact on voting rights amendment that people lost their lives for in order to have a right to vote. And we recognizing that as a result of them losing their lives and the sacrifice they made, we have gained some political gains in the form of congressional seats, municipalities. It’s all come from the Voting Rights Act now that it’s being decimated. We asking that you look at this and see, do you have an interest in understanding what that means to you as a citizen of the United States, but more importantly, have a voice in what you think should be done about the electoral process in this country.
We ask that you continue to look at the real news, because guess what? We’re actually the real news.
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