{"id":6735,"date":"2026-08-05T16:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T16:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=6735"},"modified":"2026-08-05T16:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T16:30:10","slug":"progressive-climate-organizer-william-lawrence-wins-michigan-democratic-house-primary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=6735","title":{"rendered":"Progressive climate organizer William Lawrence wins Michigan Democratic House primary"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"93e78e2f-9258-4642-ab05-b67622e5d237\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"a man in a suit speaks into a microphone\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/d824a00f76cf63bed1f088f962806c379ff68d3b\/499_0_5001_4000\/master\/5001.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"371.9256148770246\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">William Lawrence speaks at a rally with US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Lansing, Michigan, on 19 July 2026<\/span> Photograph: Andrew Roth\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"93e78e2f-9258-4642-ab05-b67622e5d237\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">William Lawrence speaks at a rally with US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Lansing, Michigan, on 19 July 2026<\/span> Photograph: Andrew Roth\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">Progressive climate organizer William Lawrence wins Michigan Democratic House primary<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Activist who rallied around a datacenter moratorium will face incumbent Republican Tom Barrett in November<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/live\/2026\/aug\/05\/michigan-primary-race-democrats-midterms-senate-el-sayed-haley-stevens-donald-trump-republicans-us-politics-latest-news-updates\" data-link-name=\"in standfirst link\">US politics live \u2013 latest updates<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">William Lawrence, a prominent environmental organizer who foregrounded his support for a datacenter moratorium, has won the Democratic primary in Michigan\u2019s seventh congressional district in a victory for progressives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Lawrence was a co-founder of the youth-led climate justice organization the Sunrise Movement, the group that in 2018 mainstreamed calls for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2019\/feb\/07\/green-new-deal-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-plan\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Green New Deal<\/a> to battle economic injustice while rapidly phasing out planet-warming fossil fuels. The 36-year-old defeated Bridget Brink, a former US ambassador to Ukraine and Slovakia, and Matt Maasdam, a former US Navy Seal and military aide to Barack Obama.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">In the November general election, Lawrence will face off with incumbentRepublican Tom Barrett. Lawrencesecured endorsements from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/21\/bernie-sanders-backs-climate-activist-michigan-race\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Senator Bernie Sanders<\/a>, as well as Representative Rashida Tlaib and progressive US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed,. On the campaign trail, he highlighted his support for universal healthcare, boosting taxes on billionaires and ending the war in Iran and arms sales to Israel.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"4f948ee0-9427-43ab-866e-af6d11540fa9\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-1oq85qr\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-3 | 3\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1rx5ky9\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-uyoh2p\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/aug\/05\/michigan-senate-primary-results-abdul-el-sayed\" class=\"dcr-f35c0u\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-vvxpdt\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6z6e7\">\n<div class=\"dcr-zh9rih\">Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate primary in defining race for Democrats<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-oj13vq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-ef9nua\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">But his biggest focus may have been his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/21\/bernie-sanders-backs-climate-activist-michigan-race\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">opposition to the unchecked build-out of AI datacenters<\/a>; he focused on the issue in his <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WeWill2026\/status\/2071911433760068051\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">first television ad<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cWill made opposing datacenter development a core part of this campaign and it helped power him to victory all across the district, including massive margins in small towns where DC insiders didn\u2019t expect him to compete,\u201d Stevie O\u2019Hanlon, Lawrence\u2019s campaign manager, said. \u201cIn Mason, where one datacenter is being proposed, Will won with 49% of the vote in a three-way race.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">In May, Lawrence said \u201cdatacenters put a tremendous, unprecedented and unexpected burden on the grid to increase overall demand\u201d and that there is \u201cno plan to do that in a clean way\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WeWill2026\/status\/2084673891272704405\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Survey research conducted<\/a> by the left-learning polling firm Data for Progress found that 63% of US voters, including 66% of independents and 47% of Republicans, were more likely to support a candidate calling for pausing datacenter construction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cTonight the people of Michigan\u2019s 7th district sent a clear message: They are tired of Silicon Valley billionaires and D.C. insiders determining the future of our towns and our country,\u201d he said in a Tuesday night statement. \u201cThey want an unbought representative who isn\u2019t afraid to stand up to leaders of both parties and fight for working people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Lawrence\u2019s district in central Michigan is one of just 18 House seats that the Cook Political Report called \u201ctoss-ups\u201d. Barrett has often <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanprogressaction.org\/article\/the-trump-scorecard-how-often-members-of-congress-vote-with-the-trump-administration\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">voted with Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cTom Barrett may have the high-powered DC consultants and corporate CEOs in his corner, but our movement is made up of real Michiganders, coming together across political differences,\u201d Lawrence said in his election night statement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/house-of-representatives\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">House of Representatives<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/michigan\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Michigan<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-midterm-elections-2026\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US midterm elections 2026<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/democrats\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Democrats<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/datacenters--us-\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Datacenters<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/environment\/climate-crisis\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Climate crisis<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Progressive%20climate%20organizer%20William%20Lawrence%20wins%20Michigan%20Democratic%20House%20primary&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/aug\/05\/william-lawrence-michigan-democratic-house-primary?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Faug%2F05%2Fwilliam-lawrence-michigan-democratic-house-primary&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/aug\/05\/william-lawrence-michigan-democratic-house-primary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>William Lawrence speaks at a rally with US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6735"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6738,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6735\/revisions\/6738"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}