Bernie Sanders backs climate activist in close Michigan congressional primary

Will Lawrence, an outspoken opponent of AI datacenters, is running in swing district where three mega complexes loom A prominent environmental organizer calling for a nationwide moratorium on datacenters as he runs for the Democratic nomination in a swing Michigan congressional district has secured an endorsement from Bernie Sanders. Will Lawrence, co-founder of the youth-led Sunrise Movement climate justice group, was a key figure behind the campaign for a Green New Deal to battle economic and racial injustice while also fighting climate change. Now he’s running for US Congress, in a three-way Democratic primary to represent the party in Michigan’s purple seventh district. “I learned at Sunrise just how important it is who is in office,” Lawrence, a Lansing native, said. The group made headlines in 2018 when it stormed the office of then House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi, demanding a swift end to fossil fuels and a jobs guarantee. Voters in Michigan’s seventh district voted for Donald Trump in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 US presidential elections, and also elected Republican Tom Barrett to Congress in 2024. But the district has been labelled a “toss-up” by the Cook Politic