Last we checked in on William Lawrence, the far-left Democrat hoping to unseat Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District – a critical swing district – he was wishing death upon former Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). Lawrence, in an unearthed tweet from a few years back, was urging the independent-minded Manchin to "hurry up and die" so that the socialist wing of the party could finally wrest control.
Nice guy.
Two things to know about Lawrence before we proceed: he was member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) until about two minutes ago and he co-founded the radical climate group Sunrise Movement, which helped fund the anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis this past January.
It's also important to know that MI-07 is a district President Trump won by roughly 1.3 points in 2024, the same year Barrett defeated Democrat Curtis Hertel by about 3.7 points. Which makes Lawrence's comment last week about the American dream being "dead" all the more curious.
In undercover video taken at an October 18 campaign event, Lawrence is caught agreeing with an attendee who was wondering if the American dream was still alive. Instead of offering a hopeful message to a potential constituent in a Trump district, Lawrence morosely nodded in agreement with the man as he was lamenting, “It almost feels like the American Dream is dead.”
“Yeah,” Lawrence replied. “Yeah.”
And then he made it even worse: “We gotta dream a new dream.”
William Lawrence, the socialist Democratic candidate in MI-07, thinks the American Dream is "dead" and "we gotta dream a new dream", a video obtained by The Midwesterner shows: https://t.co/9qxV3X4HWz
— The Midwesterner (@Th_Midwesterner) October 26, 2026
When asked what exactly should replace the old dream, Lawrence went with the old social standbys: blame Washington, D.C., and the wealthy.
“If the millionaires and the people in D.C., they don't give a damn if we live or die,” he said.
Lawrence said Americans need to build a movement that will “force them to care,” through unions, churches, and other communities capable of finding unity.
And changing the system apparently won't be pretty, with Lawrence proclaiming, “It's going to take a very complicated and messy process, and it will get worse before it gets better.”
Quite the ominous sales pitch just days before the midterms, eh?
When you take these comments along with the violent rhetoric of his now-scrubbed social media and his radical far-left bona fides, you're left with an understanding of exactly what's at stake in this election.
Cook Political Report currently rates Michigan's 7th District a Toss Up, and recent polling shows Lawrence up by 5 points over Barrett.
Get out there and vote.
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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