Former Democratic Socialists of America member William Lawrence won the Democratic primary for Michigan's 7th Congressional District on Tuesday.
One of the reasons he won was that the two more moderate Democrats in the race, former Ambassador Bridget Brink and retired Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam, appear to have split the more moderate vote, so he was able to slip by them.
Great job, guys!
But Lawrence went on CNN to talk about his win, and host Manu Raju had a couple of questions for him. You can see below a short clip with just the funniest parts. Then, under that, is the longer interview.
"So when did you leave the Democratic Socialists of America?" Raju asks Lawrence.
MI Dem House candidate Will Lawrence says he's no longer in the DSA as he enters the general election:
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) August 6, 2026
“In the last month I let my membership lapse.”
Incredible. https://t.co/15DSPRJtpT pic.twitter.com/3PDm6Dn3lf
"It was within the last month. I let my membership lapse," Lawrence replied.
Raju then asked him a logical question, "So did you let that membership expire because of the general election?"
Lawrence responded, "No, it's just because I wanted to make clear to my constituents that I'm here to represent them."
Raju also asked him where he differed from the DSA, and his response was, "I don't want to comment...I'm happy to comment on any particular policy, if you have interest." But he said he was focused on the local issues.
Now, that's all pretty funny, because no one is going to think he doesn't think like a DSA member because he let his membership "lapse" in the last month. Did you see Raju's eyebrows go up when he said that?
So it's not going to help him one bit in the general election with people on the right or in the center. If that's an effort at trying to clear the decks to make him look more acceptable, that isn't going to work. It will look more like he's playing games. And it will only make him look bad to the folks on the left, while not gaining anyone in the center.
When Raju asked Lawrence if he let the membership lapse because of the general election, Lawrence replied he wanted to make it clear to his constituents that he was there "to represent them." That's also pretty hilarious. So is he saying if he held onto his DSA membership he would appear not to be able to represent them? So what is that saying about the DSA?
He likely means every other question he would get about his campaign would be things like, "Do you believe in abolishing prisons," or the like. He's likely to get that anyway. But notice how he doesn't really answer that last question from Raju about how he differs from the DSA, at least not in that clip.
Lawrence co-founded the Sunrise Movement, the climate change group, so again, I doubt anyone is going to buy this move.
There could be a surprise, but I don't think he's going to win. He's running in a district that President Donald Trump won in 2024. Sounds a lot more centrist, and not like a district that is going to be falling for all this. We shall see, but I would not bet on Lawrence.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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