William Lawrence (activist)
William Lawrence | |
|---|---|
 Lawrence in 2026 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1990 (age 36) Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
Other political affiliations | Working Families Party Democratic Socialists of America (until July 2026)[a] |
| Spouse | Dinah |
| Education | Swarthmore College (BA) |
| Website | Campaign website |
William Lawrence (born 1990) is an American politician and activist who co-founded the Sunrise Movement, a climate action organization. A progressive Democrat, he is a member of the Working Families Party and a former member of the Democratic Socialists of America. He is the Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in Michigan's 7th congressional district in 2026.
Lawrence graduated from Swarthmore College with a bachelor's degree in sociology and anthropology. In 2015, he co-founded the Sunrise Movement to help elect politicians focused on climate policy, protest on behalf of the environmental movement, and support the Green New Deal.
In August 2025, Lawrence announced his candidacy for Michigan's 7th congressional district, winning the Democratic primary in August 2026. He is challenging incumbent Republican Tom Barrett in the general election.
Early life
William Lawrence was born in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1990 and moved to East Lansing, Michigan, at age five when his parents became law professors at Michigan State University. He graduated from East Lansing High School in 2008. After attending Whitman College in Washington for one year, he transferred to Swarthmore College, where he earned a degree in sociology and anthropology.[1] He remained in the Philadelphia area for several years before returning to Lansing around 2016.[2][3]
At Swarthmore, Lawrence was involved in campaigns to convince the college to divest from fossil fuels, echoing student activity during the anti-Apartheid movement in the United States.[4] After graduation, he founded a nonprofit, the Fossil Fuel Divestment Student Network, and invited Varshini Prakash to join. The rest of the group of activists who would later found the Sunrise Movement met at a 2015 march to the White House. In the summer of 2016, Lawrence and about a dozen others trained at Momentum, an organization that teaches community organizing.[4][5]
Early career
Sunrise Movement
Lawrence co-founded Sunrise Movement in 2015 alongside Sara Blazevic, Victoria Fernandez, Guido Girgenti, and Varshini Prakash.[6] When officially launched in 2017, the movement's goal was to be a more confrontational environmental movement and utilize civil disobedience and protest, similar to ACT UP and the anti-nuclear movement.[4] The group also organized to elect politicians who would be strong supporters of renewable energy in the 2018 midterm elections, both in the Democratic primaries and the general election. Their goals on climate policy developed into the environmental program known as the Green New Deal.[7][8][4] Lawrence originally acted as the organization's Development Director, but in 2020 he was the director of strategic partnerships.[9]
In 2018, together with Justice Democrats and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Lawrence and a group of other Sunrise members organized a sit-in in the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.[9] Sunrise organized a similar event in February 2019, bringing a group of young people to confront Senator Dianne Feinstein in her office.
By November 2019, Lawrence told Inside Philanthropy that the group had grown to 1,140 monthly donors, and had 90 volunteer hubs pop up in six weeks, across 33 states.[9]
"We believe at our core that the only successful social movements in American history are powered by the unpaid effort of tens of thousands of people, and we've always strived to build an organization that wasn't asking how many staff can we hire, but how many people can we engage as volunteers."
— William Lawrence, in 2019[9]
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Lawrence left the Sunrise Movement in 2020, after in total, spending over 12 years working to address climate change.[10][3]
Housing advocacy
In 2020, Lawrence founded the Mid-Michigan Tenant Resource Center and became focused on housing advocacy in Michigan as a coordinator for the Michigan Rent Is Too Damn High coalition, a tenant union.[10][11] Despite his prominent role as a cofounder of a large national organization, the Lansing City Pulse said that locally, he is best known for his housing advocacy and tenant organizing.[12]
Political career
2026 Congressional campaign
Lawrence announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. Representative in Michigan's 7th congressional district on August 26, 2025. The seat is currently held by Tom Barrett, a Republican.[10]
A progressive, Lawrence has been endorsed by the Working Families Party and National Nurses United.[3][13][14] He has also been endorsed by the Michigan Democratic Party Progressive Caucus,[15] Showing Up for Racial Justice,[16] Sunrise Movement,[17] Track AIPAC,[18] and Bernie Sanders.[19]
During the 2025 government shutdown, Lawrence organized a 36-hour sit-in outside incumbent Rep. Barrett's Lansing district office to protest a lapse in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) federal food assistance benefits. Lawrence slept on the sidewalk in several winter coats as it rained while he collected nearly $1,600 plus "boxes and boxes" of food for the food banks. In total, his campaign has collected more than 5,000 meals for families in the district through the Greater Lansing Food Bank. Barrett's staff called the police on him.[3][20][21]
Lawrence held a fundraiser for medical debt relief that canceled $100,000 in outstanding medical debt for local residents.[3]
At a March 2026 No Kings protest, Lawrence addressed the crowd and stated that because President Trump was never held accountable for his role in the January 6 attacks, he was more emboldened during his second term. He advocated that Trump should be impeached, prosecuted, and barred from public office.[22]
In July 2026, comments from a 2024 podcast in which Lawrence described "the older generation of Black political leadership" as "a pillar, frankly, for establishment, capitalist, imperialist American power" and said that their role “really defangs the white left,” received news coverage.[23][24][25] Lawrence said his remarks were “taken out of context,” and added, "The way I made this point was clumsy, and I regret my choice of words."[23]
On August 4, 2026, Lawrence won the Democratic primary election, defeating Ambassador Bridget Brink and former Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam.[26]
Policy positions
Lawrence said the 2003 Iraq war, which started when he was 13, was a "formative political experience of my life."[27]
Lawrence has said he would invest in affordable housing, quality health care, elder care, and child care.[10][11] He has also sharply criticized the United States' involvement in the 2026 Iran war and support for Israel in the Gaza war, which he has called a genocide.[11][12][28][3] He is an advocate for Medicare for All and a Green New Deal, as well as creating more social housing. He has spoken out against the construction of a new ICE detention processing center in Romulus, Michigan, and ICE administrative offices in Southfield, Michigan.[3]
Lawrence has criticized the growing push to bring large data centers to Michigan, saying "It's hollow economic development. The number of long-term jobs created are relatively few, and the impacts to our air and water are not fully understood." Instead, he argued the state should focus on policies that support small businesses and strengthen local communities.[3]
Personal life
Lawrence lives in Lansing with his wife Dinah.[10] He is a member of the Working Families Party.[13] Lawrence was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America until July 2026.[29]
Notes
- ↑ The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are not a registered political party. Instead, they are a political organization for those with democratic socialist ideologies.
See also
References
- ↑ "William Lawrence for US Congress". Retrieved May 2, 2026.
- ↑ Nann Burke, Melissa (August 26, 2025). "Climate, housing activist launches bid for Congress in mid-Michigan, targeting Barrett". The Detroit News. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hutchison, Matthew (March 4, 2026). "Democratic Congressional Candidate William Lawrence Criticizes Iran Strikes, Calls for Shift in U.S. Priorities". WHMI. Retrieved May 3, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Marantz, Andrew (February 28, 2022). "The Youth Movement Trying to Revolutionize Climate Politics". The New Yorker. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
- ↑ Adler-Bell, Sam (February 6, 2019). "The Story Behind the Green New Deal's Meteoric Rise". The New Republic. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
- ↑ Malle, Chloe (September 20, 2019). "Inside the Sunrise Movement: Six Weeks With the Young Activists Defining the Climate Debate". Vogue. Retrieved May 3, 2026.
- ↑ Engler, Mark; Engler, Paul (April 2, 2021). "Can You Plan a Realignment?". Dissent. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
- ↑ Allison-Natale, Sam (June 20, 2022). "Keeping the Faith: Socialism in the Waiting Place". Current Affairs. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Williams, Tate (July 19, 2019). "Sunrise Movement is Shaking Up the Climate Debate. Will More Funders Pay Attention?". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Busse, Anna (August 26, 2025). "Progressive activist William Lawrence the latest to launch campaign to run in 7th Congressional District race". Michigan Public. Retrieved May 3, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Díaz Veliz, Erick (August 27, 2025). "Lansing activist joins the Democratic fray for Michigan's 7th Congressional District". Michigan Advance. Retrieved May 3, 2026.
- 1 2 Kaplan, Leo (August 27, 2025). "Local tenants' activist announces Democratic congressional bid for MI-7". Lansing City Pulse. Retrieved May 3, 2026.
- 1 2 "WFP Endorses Donavan McKinney, William Lawrence, Rep. Rashida Tlaib in Michigan". February 27, 2026. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
- ↑ "National Nurses United endorses Will Lawrence for Michigan's 7th District". National Nurses United. January 21, 2026. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
- ↑ King, Jon (March 20, 2026). "Your Weekly Michigan Political Brief". Michigan Advance. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
- ↑ "Standing Up to the Billionaire Agenda: A conversation with Graham Platner". Showing Up for Racial Justice. March 24, 2026.
- ↑ King, Jon (November 21, 2025). "Your Weekly Michigan Political Brief". Michigan Advance. Retrieved November 21, 2025.
- ↑ "Our Endorsements". Track AIPAC. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
- ↑ Noor, Dharna (May 21, 2026). "Bernie Sanders backs climate activist in close Michigan congressional primary". The Guardian. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
- ↑ Melinn, Kyle (November 12, 2025). "How will Lawrence win a congressional seat?". Lansing City Pulse. Retrieved May 3, 2026.
- ↑ Dailey, Katherine (October 31, 2025). "Congressional candidate hosts food drive and vigil outside Rep. Tom Barrett's Lansing office". Michigan Advance. Retrieved May 3, 2026.
- ↑ Roth, Andrew (March 29, 2026). "Democratic House candidate Will Lawrence calls for Trump to be 'put on trial'". WKAR. Retrieved May 3, 2026.
- 1 2 Davis, Sarah. "Progressive House candidate responds to criticism over past comments about Black Dems". The Hill.
- ↑ Robillard, Kevin; Bendery, Jennifer (July 11, 2026). "Surging Progressive Once Said Black Democratic Leaders 'Defang The White Left'". The Huffington Post.
- ↑ Solis, Ben (July 20, 2026). "AOC addresses apparent Will Lawrence snub at Lansing rally for Abdul El-Sayed". Michigan Advance.
- ↑ Vakil, Caroline (August 4, 2026). "Progressives clinch win with Lawrence's victory in House primary to face Barrett in Michigan". The Hill. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
- ↑ Shelton, Shajaka (August 26, 2025). "New candidate launches campaign for Michigan's 7th congressional district". WLNS. Retrieved May 3, 2026.
- ↑ Davidson, Kyle (March 2, 2026). "Iran attack prompts war powers debate in Michigan's 7th Congressional District race". Michigan Advance. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- ↑ "Can a Michigan progressive who left the Democratic Socialists of America just last month win in a purple district?". CNN. August 5, 2026. Retrieved August 5, 2026.