Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


The Democratic nominee for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District was campaigning throughout Livingston County on Wednesday.

William Lawrence began his “Main Street Not Wall Street” tour by visiting Howell, South Lyon, Pinckney, and Brighton to greet voters and visit small businesses. Then later in the afternoon, he launched a canvass effort and was joined by Governor Gretchen Whitmer at the Brighton Community Center.

Both delivered remarks and lined up for photos with supporters before sending canvassers out to knock on doors.

Lawrence is challenging Republican incumbent Congressman Tom Barrett for the highly competitive battleground seat that’s become the nation's most expensive U.S. House race - surpassing $60 million in spending.

Lawrence’s campaign platform is centered on Medicare for all, expanding affordable housing, protecting the environment, and capping corporate influence in politics. He's also been very vocal in opposition to "hyperscale" data centers and Big Tech expansion.

At the event, Lawrence delivered a message of unity and coming together in the days leading up to the election. He stated “You’ve seen the ads, you’ve seen the mailers - this has become $60 million and counting in this race and we are getting outspent. And money talks. And the same is happening in the Senate race - there’s a lot of lies, a lot of smears, fabrications…stuff I said 14 years ago in debate in college when I was playing a part; there’s all kinds of nonsense out there, and the same about Abdul”.

Lawrence went on to say “In the age of A-I and misinformation, people know they can’t trust what they see online or on tv – nobody is taking this stuff at face value. And so, that’s where you come in, that’s where the canvassers come in - because we have what they can’t buy and that’s real people who are doing this for the right reason. Not because you’re collecting a paycheck but because you believe we can do politics differently”.

Lawrence, to much applause, stated they’ve knocked on over 150,000 doors thus far - but they need to knock on 50,000 more in these last six days.

Lawrence asked that people “take a chance and vote next Tuesday”, stressing there have been hard times before and “it’s about what we can all do together”.

Meanwhile, Whitmer was warmly welcomed by the crowd, and cracked some jokes while encouraging voter support leading up to the election.

Whitmer said she was “thrilled to be here”, commenting there is an opportunity “for the first time in 60 years to have a transition in the Governor’s Office from a Democrat to a Democrat”. She highlighted a need to continue building on work being done surrounding reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, workers’ rights, voters' rights, free lunch and breakfast for children, historic investments in public education, and common-sense gun laws.

Whitmer and Lawrence both pointed out there are still Michiganders who have not decided how or if they plan to vote.

Whitmer thanked everyone for “giving me the honor of a lifetime and being your governor”. She asked that people use their time over the next six days to “pull out all the stops” – commenting “the race will probably get decided by a small margin just by the nature of this district”.

Local resident Rachael Privett is the volunteer captain for El-Sayed’s campaign in Livingston County but was out yesterday to support Lawrence and Whitmer, and get out and canvass.

Privett told WHMI “When I’m out there talking to people, my big reason for being out here and canvassing is because I want Medicare for all. Abdul’s message is that, Will’s message is that. I’m a cancer survivor. I know many, many people who have had cancer and have gone into debt because of that – and they are younger people these days. I don’t think that’s ok. We need to take care of each other. And that’s why I’m out here on the streets and knocking on doors”.

Privett went on to say she’s been hearing from a lot of people who are on-board with “Medicare for all”. She added “A lot of people are sick of our healthcare system, a lot of people are sick of money in our politics - these are things I think cross both Democrat, Republican, and Independent. Everybody is concerned about these things and I’m out here supporting the Dems ticket because I’m hearing them talk about how they’re going to fix it”.

More information about Lawrence and Barrett is available in the provided links.