U.S. House · Michigan's 7th District
William Lawrence
CandidateD
- Race
- U.S. House · Michigan's 7th District
- Result
- William Lawrence, projected winner
- Opponents
- Tom Barrett (R); Shane Dedrick (G)
- Research
- Basic
Party linenone
No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.
Said vs. did7 statements · 0 votes
I also support a federal tenant bill of rights that would level the playing field between tenants and price-gouging landlords.
Stronger rent regulation and tenant protections
Compare statements with votes ›On the ballotU.S. House · 7
2026-11-03
| Tom Barrett R | incumbent |
| William Lawrence D | challenger |
| Shane Dedrick G | challenger |
Said vs. did
Each documented position next to the recorded floor votes we map to the same issue. Votes are compared one at a time; no overall stance is inferred from them.
I also support a federal tenant bill of rights that would level the playing field between tenants and price-gouging landlords.
Supports a federal tenant bill of rights and greater investment in affordable housing.[6]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
I support Medicare for All, which would remove the profit motive from health insurance and allow us all to access quality care, for a lower price.
Supports Medicare for All.[6]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
I support a billionaire minimum tax, which is a minimum wealth tax rate that the mega-wealthy must pay.
Supports a minimum tax on billionaires.[6]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
I saw first-hand how Big Utilities have sabotaged the clean energy transition so they can keep getting rich off our monthly gas and electric bills.
Campaigns on defending against climate change and says utilities have sabotaged the clean-energy transition.[6]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
I will defend women’s right to choose an abortion, and seek to codify this right in federal law.
Says he will defend the right to choose an abortion and seek to codify it in federal law.[7]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
End the ICE occupation of American cities and streets; create a path to citizenship for immigrants
Calls for ending the ICE occupation of American cities and creating a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.[7]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Most urgently, we must stop arming Israel
Says the U.S. must stop arming Israel.[7]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Biography
William Lawrence, a Democratic climate and housing organizer, won the election for Michigan's 7th District on November 3, 2026, defeating Republican incumbent Rep. Tom Barrett, and is set to take office on January 3, 2027. He co-founded the Sunrise Movement and later helped found tenant-organizing groups in mid-Michigan, and the race was his first run for office.[1][2][3][4][5]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
William Lawrence was born in 1990 in Madison, Wisconsin, and moved to East Lansing at age five, according to Wikipedia. He graduated from East Lansing High School, and his campaign website also says he was raised in East Lansing.[8][5] He earned a bachelor's degree in sociology and anthropology from Swarthmore College, per Wikipedia.[3][8]
In 2015 Lawrence co-founded the Sunrise Movement, a youth climate organization. He worked there as development director and later as director of strategic partnerships before leaving in 2020, per Wikipedia.[3][8][5] Since 2020 he has worked on housing issues in Michigan, founding the Mid-Michigan Tenant Resource Center and helping found the Michigan Rent Is Too Damn High Coalition, which his campaign website says has won statewide protections for low-income renters.[3][8][5]
Lawrence won the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary for Michigan's 7th District, defeating Bridget Brink and Matt Maasdam, in his first run for Congress. He faced Republican incumbent Rep. Tom Barrett in the November general election.[3][2] According to his campaign website, he and his wife live in Lansing.[5] According to his campaign website, he campaigned on housing affordability, Medicare for All and climate action.[3][4][5] He won the November 3, 2026 general election with 51.0% of the vote to Tom Barrett's 47.7%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[1]
In their own words
Campaign money$1.1M raised · 95% from individuals · FEC through 2026-07-15
Totals this cycle
Bars share one scale (raised = full). Cash on hand can include money carried over from earlier cycles.
Who gave
- Individuals $1.1M
- PACs & committees $40K
- Own money & loans $13K
Largest committee contributions
- Working Families Party PAC PAC$10K
- Progressive Voters of America PAC$10K
- Swing Left PAC$9,410
- Rooted in Community Leadership PAC PAC$8,000
- Medicare for All PAC$5,000
- Machinists Non Partisan Political League of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers PAC$5,000
- Moveon.org Political Action PAC$5,000
- American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education PAC$5,000
- Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC PAC$5,000
- NEA Fund for Children and Public Education PAC$5,000
Direct contributions only; outside spending is not included. Individual donors are itemized in the FEC’s receipts. All itemized receipts ↗ FEC filing ↗
Profile: /people/william-lawrence-mi
Compare all 3 candidates side by side ›
Sources cited in this profile
- 1.Michigan's 7th District U.S. House election results 2026 · NBC News News report
- 2.Will Lawrence emerges as victor in MI-7 Democratic Primary · Michigan Advance · 2026-08-04 News report
- 3.William Lawrence (Michigan) · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
- 4.Lawrence's Candidate Connection survey responses, quoted by Ballotpedia · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection · 2026-09-25 Candidate's own words
- 5.About Will · William Lawrence for Congress · 2026-10-21 Candidate's own words
- 6.Lawrence's Candidate Connection survey responses, quoted by Ballotpedia · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection · 2026-09-25 Candidate's own words
- 7.Platform · Will Lawrence for Congress Candidate's own words
- 8.William Lawrence (activist) · Wikipedia · 2026-10-21 Reference