Each morning at Emerson Farms and Services, Emerson Hyde and his wife, Charlene Hyde, begin harvesting grain corn to feed their cattle.
He uses decades-old farm equipment that has been paid off for years.
Their dogs, Lily and Gigi, run through the fields, taking in all the action.
It's a routine he said helps them slow down and enjoy the farm.
"We’re just the little guy. And we have a lot of fun right here,” Emerson Hyde said. “This is where we want to spend the rest of our years having fun.”
But they fear transmission lines that could be routed through their property, and a potential data center development about a mile away, could disrupt things.
The farm, just north of Mason, falls within one of the closest U.S. House districts in the country: Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, which covers Ingham, Clinton, Shiawassee and Livingston counties, as well as portions of Eaton, Genesee and Oakland counties.
That's why both U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, and his Democratic challenger, climate organizer William Lawrence, have visited the farm.
Barrett said face-to-face conversations have been a key part of his approach since he was a state lawmaker.
He said canvassing provides an opportunity to connect with voters on an individual level, without any fanfare.
“You can hate somebody from far away,” Barrett said. “You can hate them when they're on TV. You can hate them when you pass a billboard with their picture on it, when you see their face in your mailbox.
“But when they're standing two or three feet away from you on their doorstep, it's hard to hate somebody that close up, and it allows you to have a real conversation and really discover the areas where you can agree, and maybe some areas where you don't, but have a respect for one another when you walk away from that conversation.”
Barrett said canvassing comes with a level of uncertainty, as you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get when someone answers the door.
“You have people come to the door naked. It just runs the spectrum,” Barrett said. “And it’s never like, not to put it bluntly, but it’s never in a good way.”
But canvassing one neighborhood in Mason, nearly every resident Barrett talked to had the same issue on their minds: data centers.
Mason has become a hotbed of anti-data center organizing, with residents fiercely campaigning against a potential $1 billion development that’s still months away.
Barrett has introduced legislation to prohibit public officials from signing nondisclosure agreements related to data centers, prevent the federal government from overriding local land-use decisions and require developers to cover the cost of increased electric grid capacity.
Lawrence seeks to go further, with a federal moratorium on all data center development.
The Lansing Democrat has stood alongside Mason residents at City Council meetings to deliver public comment.
Lawrence said he knew he had found a live wire in October 2025, when he attended public meetings in communities like Howell Township and Lyon Township, where officials were also considering data center developments.
“I saw the auditorium completely packed, and it was obvious that it was people across the political spectrum – Democrats, Republicans, people who don't even know what to call themselves because they're just so sick of it all – coming together with complete unity, saying no to this invasion by big tech into our small towns,” Lawrence said.
Mason is the seat of Ingham County – a heavily Democratic county that also contains the campus of Michigan State University and the state capital.
Barrett said while he won’t win the county, minimizing his losses there will play an important part in determining whether he wins the district in November. Competitive areas within the county, like Mason, are key to doing that.
The same is true of deeply red Livingston County for Lawrence, where Barrett performed about 10.5 points better in his 2024 victory to flip the seat than he did when he lost the district in 2022.
Lawrence said opposition to data centers provides an opportunity to cut through partisan divides.
“In a time where there’s so much polarization and people at the top are trying to tear us apart, team red against team blue, you’ve got to hold on to these issues that bring people together,” Lawrence said. “We need to find those opportunities for unity. It’s good politics, but it’s also good community building.”
That’s why both candidates are fighting for one vote at a time in every corner of the district.
Charlene Hyde said she’s registered as a Democrat but hasn’t voted for a Democrat since the turn of the century. Her husband, Emerson Hyde, said he’s been a Republican his entire adult life. They both voted for President Donald Trump.
But this year, they have a Lawrence sign in the front yard of the farmhouse both candidates have visited.
“We are going to vote for Will,” Charlene Hyde said. “We think he has been very upfront on the data centers. We feel he’s very approachable. He’s very easy to talk to, and he listens.”
In addition to supporting the Democratic candidate for U.S. House, Emerson Hyde said he supports Libertarian gubernatorial nominee Anthony Hudson and Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Mike Rogers.
“You pick the person. You don’t pick the party,” Emerson Hyde said. “I’ve always been a strong believer in that. You pick the person, not the party.”
