Updated 2:00 a.m.
Activist and grassroots organizer William Lawrence won the Democratic primary for Michigan's 7th Congressional District Tuesday.
The Associated Press called the race at 11:23 p.m.
Lawrence beat out former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink and former U.S. Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam, sending him to the November general election against Republican incumbent and first-term Congressman Tom Barrett.
Lawrence ran to the left of Brink and Maasdam with a campaign focused on regulating data centers and rejecting corporate PAC money.
The 7th district primary has gained national media coverage as progressive and moderate wings of the Democratic party fight for dominance.
U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin, a more centrist Democrat, who previously represented the district, endorsed Maasdam.
Toward the end of the campaign, there was a question of whether Brink or Maasdam would drop out to consolidate their supporters.
Maasdam told Michigan Advance in late July that Brink should drop from the race.
"It would be tough to be third in the race and know that you're taking votes from other people," Maasdam said.
Maasdam sent his supporters home at around 11 p.m. from his election night watch party in Okemos as he trailed in the results. His team did not make him available for an interview.
Lawrence said both Brink and Maasdam called him with congratulations after the race was called.
Much of Lawrence's campaign efforts were conducted by grassroots volunteers.
According to Maegan Houang, a friend of Lawrence's that joined his campaign from Los Angeles, canvassers knocked on more than 100,000 doors leading up to Election Day.
Around 80,000 of those door-to-door visits happened in June and July, and an estimated 20,000 happened in the last few days.
"Thank you to every single volunteer, every single donor, every single endorser, everyone who's been there with advice and a listening ear," Lawrence said in his victory speech. "This is all of our victory and hope you all feel so proud of yourselves."
One volunteer with Lawrence's campaign, John Michael, stressed how important it was to him as a voter to have candidates for the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives with aligning platforms.
"Medicare for all and, obviously, their stances on Palestine, have been the two biggest things between Abdul [El-Sayed] and Will [Lawrence]," Michael said. "It's been very cool to have a House candidate and a Senate candidate that I really like."
Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed and Lawrence cross-endorsed one another ahead of the primary election.
In his victory speech, Lawrence stressed that he would be working with his opponents in the primary in the race against Barrett.
"Iron sharpens iron," he said, "and Bridget [Brink] and Matt [Maasdam]'s work has made our movement stronger."
Brink, Lawrence, and Maasdam agreed to attend a unity event hosted by the Michigan 7th Congressional District Democrats in East Lansing Saturday to bring their voters together against Barrett.
While tonight’s result wasn’t the one we wanted, I’m incredibly proud of the relentless, hard fought campaign we ran.
— Bridget Brink (@AmbBridgetBrink) August 5, 2026
I dedicated my life to serving our country and fighting for our values — freedom and democracy — and that’s exactly what this campaign was about. To ensure the…
Maasdam ended his election watch party around 11 p.m., but posted his concession on X within the hour.
"Now, we turn to the real mission: beating Tom Barrett in the fall," Maasdam wrote. "I look forward to doing everything in my power to make that happen and help flip the House blue."
Brink also posted her concession and her hopes to oust Barrett on X.
Lora Newmeyer, a canvasser for Lawrence from Livingston County, said she thinks Lawrence has a strong chance against Barrett.
Congratulations to Sean McCann (MI-04), Christina Hines (MI-10), Callie Barr (MI-01) and William Lawrence (MI-07) – our Democratic nominees for Congress in seats we can flip.
— Elissa Slotkin (@ElissaSlotkin) August 5, 2026
With Democrats needing just 5 seats to flip the House of Representatives, I’m looking forward to…
"We're in a rural community. [Lawrence] comes out there and he talks to people," Newmeyer said. "Tom Barrett, he sees you and he sprints in the other direction."
Barrett posted on X about the Democratic primary results, congratulating Lawrence.
"We welcome him to the race," Barrett wrote, and said that unlike Brink and Maasdam, "we will not underestimate him."
Slotkin also congratulated Lawrence on the win on X.
Lawrence said his canvassing for the General Election will begin Saturday, August 8, in Mason.
"Zero votes have been cast for the general election, and we need to take that zero-zero mentality into the next week and the next three months," Lawrence said, "because the mission is to beat Barrett and send an unbought, independent-minded representative to Washington D.C."
Copyright 2026 WKAR Public Media
