William Lawrence is set to face Republican incumbent Congressman Tom Barrett in the general election for the state’s 7th Congressional District which covers much of mid-Michigan.
The climate activist and organizer beat out two more moderate Democrats, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink and former Navy Seal Matt Maasdam, on Election Day in a win for the progressive wing of the party.
"It's really a movement that we've built here in mid-Michigan, knocking on over 100,000 doors and doing work around the clock for the last year to get to this point," he said.
Lawrence gained a plurality of the vote on Election Night, but he told WKAR News Wednesday he's confident that he'll continue to gain support throughout the district.
"I'm a coalition builder, and you've seen me show up in many different places around the district, from, you know, our city of Lansing out to our small towns and suburban and rural areas."
Lawrence's platform has centered around rejecting corporate PAC money, supporting a federal moratorium on data centers and protecting social security among other campaign promises.
He calls his opponent Barrett an "utter failure," citing his support for President Donald Trump and for not being "accessible."
"Our priorities are all out of whack. People understand that we need to set our priorities straight, and that's the movement we're building here in the 7th district," Lawrence said.
Barrett flipped the district in 2024 after then Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin ran for U.S. Senate.
On social media, Barrett welcomed Lawrence to the race and said "we will not underestimate him."
I want to congratulate @WeWill2026 on winning the Democratic primary tonight. We welcome him to the race and unlike @AmbBridgetBrink and @MattMaasdam, we will not underestimate him.
— Tom Barrett (@tombarrettmi7) August 5, 2026
Interview Highlights
On his primary win
It's very exciting. I'm just so proud of all the volunteers and our entire team who work so hard. It's really a movement that we've built here in mid-Michigan, knocking on over 100,000 doors and doing work around the clock for the last year to get to this point. But now, the real work's just getting started because we've got to take it to Tom Barrett.
On gaining support from voters who chose not to support him during the primary
I'm a coalition builder, and you've seen me show up in many different places around the district, from, you know, our city of Lansing out to our small towns and suburban and rural areas. That's what I'm going to continue to do is to be accessible in the ways that Tom Barrett is not, to serve people in the ways that he has refused to. And I'm an open book for anybody who wants to approach me and have a conversation about the issues, about policy because we're really building this thing from the ground up.
On his platform amid national conversations about the Democratic party
I can't really speak to where people see me in the national conversation, but what I know is that I'm laser focused on showing up to represent the people of the 7th district. I love mid-Michigan. I've lived most of my life here, and I'm going to be here. And I know that we deserve healthcare that we can all afford and count on. We need housing that we can afford in every corner of this district, and we need to set our priorities straight as a nation because right now we're rolling out the red carpet for AI data center developers and sending trillions of dollars abroad to wage endless wars while we can't even provide the basics for our neighbors here in Michigan.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: William Lawrence is set to face Republican incumbent Congressman Tom Barrett in the general election for the state’s 7th Congressional District which covers much of mid-Michigan.
The climate activist and organizer beat out two more moderate Democrats on Election Day in a win for the progressive wing of the party.
He joins me now to talk about what’s next for his campaign. Thank you for being here.
William Lawrence: Thank you, Sophia. I'm glad to be here.
Saliby: What has this past 24 hours been like for you?
Lawrence: It's very exciting. I'm just so proud of all the volunteers and our entire team who work so hard. It's really a movement that we've built here in mid-Michigan, knocking on over 100,000 doors and doing work around the clock for the last year to get to this point.
But now, the real work's just getting started because we've got to take it to Tom Barrett, who has been an utter failure as our congressman, has caused our prices to go up while voting for stupid wars around the world, and we've got to beat him on November 3.
Saliby: Turning to the general election campaign, how are you going to win over voters who cast their ballots for your opponents, Bridget Brink and Matt Maasdam? We should note they did get more votes than you combined on election night.
Lawrence: Well, I was pleased to hear from both Bridget Brink and Matt Maasdam last night to receive their congratulations, and they assured me that they are focused, as am I, on the mission to beat Tom Barrett this November.
So, I look forward to campaigning with them and our many other friends and allies all over the district, so that we can get rid of Barrett and send an unbought and independent-minded representative of mid-Michigan to Congress.
Saliby: Do you have a pitch to them, people who might be listening, who voted for those candidates?
Lawrence: I'm a coalition builder, and you've seen me show up in many different places around the district, from, you know, our city of Lansing out to our small towns and suburban and rural areas. That's what I'm going to continue to do is to be accessible in the ways that Tom Barrett is not, to serve people in the ways that he has refused to.
And I'm an open book for anybody who wants to approach me and have a conversation about the issues, about policy because we're really building this thing from the ground up. And so, I just welcome any direct conversations with anybody who has questions, so that we can all unite for November.
Saliby: A lot of your campaigning has been focused on your hometown of Lansing and surrounding areas, but the 7th district is much bigger than that, with a lot more rural voters. Something you mentioned. How do you plan to connect with them?
Lawrence: Well, we're going to be showing up in all the different places, and again, I would note that we actually performed quite well throughout the district. You know, I won Clinton County. I won Livingston County last night. You know, areas where people wondered if I would be able to hold my own, and we more than did that.
So, I'm confident that we've got a strong foundation in the movement we've built in every corner of the district, but we're just going to continue showing up and focusing on the issues that matter to people in those areas.
For instance, Trump's ridiculous tariffs, which Barrett has supported, which have caused prices and market access to be fundamentally destabilized for our farmers in this district, that has made it impossible, impossible to plan for the future and to recoup the investment that our farmers are making. So, we've got to stabilize prices and market conditions for our farmers and small businesses, and that's just one of, you know, many issues that I look forward to fighting for alongside the people of the 7th district.
Saliby: This race has also gained national coverage as a potential bellwether for the Democratic Party and the direction the party's voters are headed. Where do you see yourself in this big national conversation?
Lawrence: You know, I can't really speak to where people see me in the national conversation, but what I know is that I'm laser focused on showing up to represent the people of the 7th district. I love mid-Michigan. I've lived most of my life here, and I'm going to be here.
And I know that we deserve healthcare that we can all afford and count on. We need housing that we can afford in every corner of this district, and we need to set our priorities straight as a nation because right now we're rolling out the red carpet for AI data center developers and sending trillions of dollars abroad to wage endless wars while we can't even provide the basics for our neighbors here in Michigan.
So, our priorities are all out of whack. People understand that we need to set our priorities straight, and that's the movement we're building here in the 7th district.
Saliby: William Lawrence is the Democratic nominee running to unseat Republican Representative Tom Barrett in Michigan's 7th Congressional District. Thank you for joining us.
Lawrence: Thanks again, Sophia.
This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and conciseness.
