5 minPolitics
Barrett Says Socialist Views Should Disqualify Michigan Rival Lawrence
Rep. Tom Barrett argues that William Lawrence's past statements and Democratic Socialists of America ties should disqualify him in Michigan's competitive 7th District race, as Lawrence says his views have changed.
Rep. Tom Barrett is urging voters in Michigan's 7th Congressional District to reject his Democratic opponent, William Lawrence, arguing that Lawrence's record as a Democratic Socialist and a series of past statements should disqualify him from consideration in one of the nation's most competitive House races.
Barrett, a freshman Republican and 21-year Army veteran helicopter pilot who previously served nearly a decade in the Michigan legislature, narrowly won the district in 2024. The district, anchored by Lansing, mixes a large Democratic city with reddish suburbs and deep red rural areas and is consistently described as one of the closest swing districts in the country. Control of Congress could hinge on its outcome.
Lawrence is an activist and founder of the climate-focused Sunrise Movement, a longtime member of the Democratic Socialists of America who now says he let his membership lapse. He has also said his views have changed after a series of controversial social media posts resurfaced, including one in which he called the nuclear family «an isolating, violent way of organizing society» and others in which he praised campaigns to abolish the police.
Barrett contends the shift is about political expediency rather than genuine conviction. «I think we got to take him at his word that this was his absolute true ideology and it wasn't just this one statement that he made,» Barrett said. He pointed to what he described as a pattern: «He made repetitive statements against police, calling to not just defund but abolish the police altogether. He wanted to throw open the borders. He said if we're a humane country, we've got to throw open the borders and redistribute all of the wealth.»
The congressman also cited Lawrence's description of the nuclear family as a violent way to organize society, saying the remarks show «a pattern of behavior that this is not an isolated incident.» Barrett argued that any neutral observer can see Lawrence is moderating his positions because he is running in a competitive district rather than a safely Democratic one. «He's not running in Rashida Tlaib's district or AOC's district where they're far more sympathetic to these DSA-aligned socialist candidates,» Barrett said. «He's running in the district that I live in where I'm raising my own nuclear family.»
Barrett said the foremost risk of what he called open-border policies is public safety. «Just the physical threats to our communities are substantial,» he said, citing criminal gang activity and cartels that he said operated freely across the border under the Biden administration, as well as millions of migrants who entered the country unvetted. He also tied the fentanyl crisis to border policy, saying the leading cause of death for Americans his age is fentanyl overdose, not cancer or heart disease. «People that I served with in the military that came home and survived combat and died of fentanyl overdose,» he said, crediting recent border security efforts with a significant decline in overdose deaths and warning that Lawrence would reverse that progress while also abolishing the police.
On Lawrence's DSA membership, Barrett said being a socialist should disqualify him in the district. He noted that Lawrence claims he let his membership lapse shortly before the primary, but argued that Lawrence has not disavowed the group's positions. «He has embraced all of their positions, gathered all of their support, really benefited from the support of the democratic socialist movement,» Barrett said. «And then when the time comes to defend those positions, he wants to say, well I let my membership lapse so you can't hold me accountable.»
Barrett also condemned a past post in which Lawrence, expressing frustration over climate policy, targeted West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and wrote, «Hurry up and die so that we can get started.» Barrett called the remark «entirely inappropriate» and said it should raise the attention of every reasonable American. The race remains closely watched as both parties fight for the House majority.
