Michigan's 2026 primary election is August 4. In the state's 7th Congressional District, three candidates are running in the Democratic primary, and the winner will face Republican incumbent Tom Barrett this fall. As part of Michigan Public's Election 2026 coverage, All Things Considered is featuring a series of interviews with all three Democratic candidates.
Candidate William Lawrence spoke with All Things Considered host Rebecca Hector.
Rebecca Hector: What will your top three priorities be if you are elected?
William Lawrence: Top three priorities are to stop these stupid wars we're fighting around the world, including the war in Iran, including our arming and abetting of the genocide that Israel is committing in Gaza. My second priority is to put a pause on AI data centers coming into the 7th District through a federal moratorium on new data center construction. And my third priority is to tackle the cost of living and deliver economic security for the people of Michigan by fighting for Medicare for all. I'm also going to fight for good quality, affordable housing for everybody.
RH: One thing we are hearing a lot from people is that they're worried about their ability to find high quality, high paying work. Do you have an example of legislation that you would propose or support to help bring and keep those kinds of jobs in the 7th District?
WL: Certainly. We know that the highest quality jobs with the best wages and the most job security are union jobs, because a union supports workers to bargain collectively to get our fair share. In the United States Congress, I will work to pass the PRO Act, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which makes it easier for every worker to form a union by making it illegal for the bosses to be fighting back and busting the unions.
RH: I think you touched on this a bit in your priority list, but Affordable Care Act premiums increased significantly across the country this year. Costs of other health plans are also up, and people feel like those plans are covering less. So what, if anything, should Congress do differently to make health care affordable?
WL: Tom Barrett voted to undermine the Affordable Care Act. And that is why all of our premiums are rising, because they cut out the subsidies that were going to help support our health coverage. He also voted to kick 700,000 Michiganders off of Medicaid. People are suffering because of the cost of not just the premiums, but also the deductibles and co-pays. This is happening because the health insurance system is delivering massive profits to a small number of investors and executives at these health insurance companies. That's why I support Medicare for all, which will allow all of us to have high quality health insurance coverage and will also give us the security of knowing that our kids and our grandkids will get that same deal.
RH: Something else that you already touched on a little bit: should the federal government change the way it regulates AI companies and data centers?
WL: Right now, there's no regulation at all that is protecting people. I mean, the story normally goes like this. I hear the billionaires, the Silicon Valley companies, their lobbyists and their PR agents, they come into town, they sign the township officials to non-disclosure agreements, and then they come forward to the public and say, this is a great deal, everybody. Just trust us. And people say, well, you've signed these non-disclosure agreements. You have a track record of misrepresenting and making false promises. Why would we trust you? And then usually the next step is threats and intimidation. So asking local communities to fight back on their own is not realistic. That's why we need a federal moratorium on new data centers, so that we can all have a society-wide dialogue about what are the appropriate regulations to ensure that if these data centers are built, it is for the benefit of all of our people, rather than just a few billionaires in Silicon Valley.
RH: I want to jump over to inflation. What do you think Congress's top priority should be to bring down inflation and improve affordability?
WL: When I talk about the economy, my big focus is on the concept of security. Economic security, which is not just being able to afford things now, but having confidence that we'll be able to afford them in the future. The first thing we got to do is we've got to end this ridiculous and disastrous war in Iran, which has caused the gas prices to go through the roof. It's also caused fertilizer prices to increase, and that is filtering through the entire economy and is especially showing up in the cost of groceries. But we also have to recognize that mega corporations are taking advantage of the economic environment to raise prices and deliver record profits to their investors. We need to make it illegal to engage in that kind of price gouging.
RH: One thing that has been a theme throughout the current administration is these mass deportation efforts that we are seeing. How do you think Congress should respond to that?
WL: I can't think of anything more un-American than masked unidentified agents in American cities, kidnapping people and throwing them into unmarked vans. We need to restore the rule of law, because right now, the immigration enforcement regime under Trump is completely lawless and it's unconstitutional. So we need to restore the rule of law and stop separating families, which is absolutely inhumane.
RH: Is there anything else that you would like voters to know?
WL: I'm proud to have been raised in Lansing, East Lansing, live in Lansing now. I've spent most of my life here in this district, and I've won at the federal level and at the state level to pass policy to help working families here in Michigan. Now, I'm very excited to represent your interests and serve all of us as your next representative in Congress.
Editor's note: Some quotes in this article have been lightly edited for length and clarity. You can play the full audio of this interview near the top of this page.
