Progressive climate organizer William Lawrence wins Michigan Democratic House primary

Activist who rallied around a datacenter moratorium will face incumbent Republican Tom Barrett in November William Lawrence, a prominent environmental organizer who foregrounded his support for a datacenter moratorium, has won the Democratic primary in Michigan’s seventh congressional district in a victory for progressives. Lawrence was a co-founder of the youth-led climate justice organization the Sunrise Movement, the group that in 2018 mainstreamed calls for a Green New Deal 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. In the November general election, Lawrence will face off with incumbent Republican Tom Barrett. Lawrence secured endorsements from Senator Bernie Sanders, 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. But his biggest focus may have been his opposition to the unch