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Prominent Progressive Activist Wins Democratic Primary In Michigan House Race

WASHINGTON — Will Lawrence is projected to win Tuesday's Democratic primary in Michigan's 7th congressional district, continuing a streak of victories by progressives nationwide as voters signal they want new and more left-leaning party leadership.

Lawrence, a 35-year-old activist who cofounded the Sunrise Movement, a political action group focused on climate change, defeated former Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam and former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink.

Maasdam and Brink were moderate candidates who knew they risked splitting votes and clearing the path for Lawrence, but neither was willing to drop out. Their dueling campaigns split their party's establishment, too, with Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) backing Maasdam while former Michigan Democratic Govs. Jennifer Granholm and Jim Blanchard endorsed Brink.

Will Lawrence, the cofounder of the political action group Sunrise Movement, won the Democratic primary in Michigan's 7th congressional district.

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Lawrence coasted to victory with endorsements from prominent national progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.). He campaigned on a message of affordability, putting a moratorium on new data centers, ending the war in Iran and fighting President Donald Trump's lawlessness.

"He should be impeached, he should be prosecuted and he should be barred from office and in prison for his crimes against humanity and the Constitution," Lawrence demanded in March at a No Kings protest in Lansing.

The progressive activist got in some hot water last month after HuffPost uncovered comments he made on a 2024 podcast in which he described "the older generation of Black political leadership" as "a pillar, frankly, for establishment, capitalist, imperialist American power" and said their role "really defangs the white left." Lawrence suggested his comments were taken out of context, but said he regretted his choice of words.

Lawrence will take on freshman Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in November. He's got a decent chance of unseating Barrett, though establishment Democrats fear Lawrence's left-leaning views have turned an easy ouster into a tough fight.

This congressional district, anchored by Lansing and its surrounding rural areas, is one of the tightest swing districts in one of the most purple states in the country. Trump won the district by 1 percentage point in 2024, and Barrett, one of House Democrats' top targets for defeat, eked out his win that year with 50.3% of the vote.