Football aside, Alabama is at the center of this week’s big debate

Tuscaloosa is used to having the nation’s eyes on it, especially toward the end of the year. (Suffice to say, there is no controversy in Alabama over who made the College Football Playoff.)

Still, Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate, held on the campus of the University of Alabama, offers the city of 113,000 a different kind of opportunity. The state has never before hosted a debate during a presidential election cycle, with organizers often looking instead to swing states, early voting states or huge population centers as possible locations.

“For many people, this will be their rare opportunity to actually see a presidential candidate in person,” said Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, adding that he had submitted a number of ticket requests that rivaled those of a weekend of the game day. “In Iowa, New Hampshire, that’s a birthright,” Mr. Maddox, the 2018 Democratic candidate for governor, said of seeing numerous presidential candidates. “In Alabama that’s pretty rare.”

In some ways, it’s not surprising that Republicans chose to base themselves in Alabama, a conservative stronghold shaped in part by hardline politicians willing to exploit their grievances and divisions. (Former President Donald J. Trump, the Republican front-runner, has often enjoyed the state’s loyal voter base, but he will not be a participant in the debate.)

“Alabama is getting more attention, especially on the conservative Republican side,” said John Wahl, the chairman of the Republican Party of Alabama. “If you look across the country for a state that embodies Republican principles and the values ​​of the Republican Party, we are a good state,” he added.

But beyond the outcome of Wednesday’s debate, there are reasons why national political figures are paying a lot of attention to Alabama this election cycle.

At a time when control of the House of Representatives hinges on just a few seats, an Alabama congressional district is suddenly competitive. In October, a federal court ordered Alabama to use a new map that creates a second district with a near majority of black voters.

The order came after the Supreme Court ruled this summer that the congressional map drawn by the Republican-dominated state legislature violated the Voting Rights Act. The ruling may have paved the way for fairer and more competitive racing in the region in 2024.

This month, lawmakers in Georgia unveiled a proposed congressional map that would create an additional majority-black district, while the Louisiana Legislature has until the end of January to create a new map that complies with the Voting Rights Act.

And now in Alabama, nearly two dozen candidates are vying for the Second Congressional District, designated as the newest district where black voters have a valid chance to elect a candidate of their choice. (In Alabama, black voters tend to support Democrats, increasing the party’s chances of flipping the seat.)

Some Democrats said Wednesday’s debate was a chance for them to link criticism of Alabama’s tough leadership and policies to Mr. Trump and the other candidates. Democrats have been targeting the state’s senior senator, Tommy Tuberville, in a months-long, single-handed blockade of top military promotions; On Tuesday, he agreed to lift his blockade on all but the top generals.

“We are a conservative state, yes, but I don’t think we are that state where we are as extreme as we see with Donald Trump and so many other Republican leaders,” said Doug Jones. said former Democratic senator and Biden ally. He argued that the policies championed by Alabama’s top Republicans — the strict ban on abortion, an effort to restrict certain books in libraries and an effort to restrict the rights of LGBTQ youth — made the case against Mr. Trump and other Republican candidates would sue.

But, he added, “even as a partisan Democrat, I’m glad there’s going to be a big Republican Party debate in this state.”

“It’s always good for Tuscaloosa, for the state, for the University of Alabama,” he said.

Mr. Wahl said he was also pleased that the debate took place on campus, where the Republican Party could reach younger voters.

“I think it gives the party a great opportunity to reach young people to talk about the issues that matter to them and how these issues affect their lives,” he said.

He also noted that the university’s own, apolitical imagery — crimson with an elephant mascot — was appropriate for a Republican debate.