Lawrence declares victory in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District

In a tight race for Michigan’s politically purple 7th Congressional District, Lansing area political organizer William Lawrence has declared himself the victor against incumbent Congressman Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte).

Lawrence’s campaign shared their proclamation of victory at 2:49 a.m., though the Associated Press had not yet called the race. 

While Barrett was leading through most of the evening and into the night, Lawrence’s campaign began making gains in the wee hours of the morning. 

Barrett departed his election night watch party at 2:39 a.m. without speaking to the media. At 2:40 a.m., Lawrence was leading by 2.2 percentage points.

“We built an unprecedented movement here in Mid-Michigan, powered by thousands of volunteers, and we showed that you can beat an incumbent Republican without taking a dime of corporate PAC money,” Lawrence said in a statement. “We united people from every corner of this district – and found common ground in opposition to war and data centers, and in favor of good housing and healthcare, social security, jobs and education. Our people-powered movement took on the richest and most powerful people in the world, and we won.”

Prior to his run for Congress, Lawrence had co-founded the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate action group which helped shape President Joe Biden’s climate policies. Lawrence also advocated for housing reforms as a founder of the MI Rent is Too Damn High Coalition.

If official results declare him the victor, Lawrence will serve as the U.S. representative for the state’s 7th Congressional District, which includes Clinton, Shiawassee, Ingham and Livingston counties and parts of Eaton, Genesee and Oakland counties.

Prior to Barrett winning the seat in 2024, the district had been represented by Democrat Elissa Slotkin, who ran for and won a U.S. Senate seat that same year.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.