Lansing — A Democratic community organizer hoping to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett in the 7th Congressional District race in November is out with his first ad.
William Lawrence’s first ad features him standing in a farm field while underscoring his opposition to data centers. It also features a Mason resident who is worried about a data center planned for the area, which he calls an “existential threat.”
“If they put that in, it’s going to plummet the values,” the Mason resident, identified by the campaign as Randy Cantu, said in the ad. Cantu adds that Lawrence won’t “let us be bullied by a big corporation.”
The 30-second ad is part of a six-figure ad buy the campaign plans to release on broadcast and cable starting Tuesday.
Within the ad, Lawrence also touts his endorsement by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
“I’m running for U.S. Congress because I’ve never been afraid to stand up to corporate power,” Lawrence said in the ad.
In a statement, Lawrence’s campaign said the Lansing resident supports Sanders’ call for a moratorium on data centers “until common sense regulations can be passed.”
Lawrence, a community organizer from Lansing, co-founded the youth-led Sunrise Movement for climate action. In recent years, he’s focused on housing affordability, founding the Michigan Rent Is Too Damn High Coalition to advocate for renters and tenants’ protections.
Lawrence’s ad comes after his primary opponents released their first ads at the start of the month. Former Ambassador Bridget Brink promoted her bio in her ad, as did former U.S. Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam.
The winner of the three-way Aug. 4 primary, absentee voting for which has already begun, will compete against Republican incumbent Barrett, of Charlotte, in the swing district.
The 7th Congressional District contest is considered a highly competitive race. In 2024, Barrett won his seat by 3.7 percentage points against then state Sen. Curtis Hertel, an East Lansing Democrat who now serves as chairman for the Michigan Democratic Party.
Maasdam grew up in Nebraska but graduated from the University of Michigan before spending 20 years in the U.S. Navy as a SEAL. He served as a military aide under Obama and later went into business. He moved back to Michigan in 2019.Brink moved to Lansing last year after serving 28 years as a diplomat, most recently as U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, a post she resigned from in 2025 due to disagreements with Trump’s policy and actions.
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Lawrence goes after data centers in first ad of 7th District primary
Reporting by Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
