Democrat unseats Barrett in battleground Michigan House contest

Democrats are projected to score a big win in Michigan, with William Lawrence, a liberal climate activist, picking off GOP Rep. Tom Barrett in the state’s 7th District, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Heading into the polls, the race was a true toss-up, with both sides spending enormously to make it one of the most expensive contests of the 2026 cycle. Lawrence garnered about 51 percent of the vote while the incumbent notched about 48 percent, with more than 95 percent of the vote tallied Wednesday morning.

Republicans were confident that Barrett, an Army veteran who served in Iraq, would hold the seat that includes the state’s capital of Lansing, especially given Lawrence’s prior affiliation with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). GOP operatives sought to highlight that history, arguing that Lawrence — who had defeated two centrist Democrats in the primary in August — was simply too far left for the purple 7th District.

It wasn’t enough to save Barrett, however, in a cycle when President Trump’s historic unpopularity, the Iran war and widespread economic anxieties have been a drag on GOP candidates across the country.

Lawrence played to those anxieties, focusing his campaign message on the kitchen-table issue of affordability, including efforts to shore up Social Security, bring down the cost of housing and establish a system of universal healthcare.

He also vowed to end the conflict in Iran and install a yearlong, national moratorium on the construction of new data centers — an issue that has resonated around the country in the lead-up to the elections.

Lawrence is a political newcomer but no stranger to Washington politics. He’s a co-founder of the Sunrise Movement, which was established to push policymakers at all levels to get tougher on climate change.

The group made waves in 2018 when it led a protest at the Washington office of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — a sit-in attended by the newly elected Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

Lawrence left the DSA just weeks before his primary victory this year. But his ties to the group and activist history will make him among the most closely watched new Democrats in the Capitol, where Democratic leaders will face the daunting challenge of balancing the interests of rabble-rousing progressives with those of the centrists.