Michigan Democrat William Lawrence has scrubbed hundreds of past social media posts that appeared to align him with some of the left’s most sweeping policy demands, including eliminating police and prisons, allowing open borders and getting rid of the U.S. Senate.
Lawrence, 36, is currently the Democratic nominee in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, a high-profile House contest where he is seeking to unseat Republican Representative Tom Barrett.
A CNN KFile report published Friday, however, brought renewed attention to a large cache of older posts, many from a former X account, dating to 2020 as Lawrence was rising as a progressive activist and organizer.
One deleted 2021 post highlighted by CNN praised Black Visions, a Minneapolis-based activist organization, and its push to defund police departments.
In that message, Lawrence said the movement had moved the United States “nearer to a world without police and prisons.”
CNN also reported that Lawrence advocated the “forced nationalization” of fossil fuel companies, describing it as a path toward shutting down their production.
Another post showed Lawrence encouraging supporters to imagine “a world of free and open migration.” When asked whether that meant anyone should be allowed to live wherever they choose, he answered simply: “Yes!”
The report also cited posts in which Lawrence called to “Abolish the Senate” and pushed for a “fundamental overhaul” of the U.S. Constitution.
Michigan Democrat William Lawrence, competing for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District’s since-deleted posts have resurfaced, where he’s called to ‘abolish the Senate’ and argued for a ‘fundamental overhaul’ of the Constitution
In his statement to Our News Outlet, Lawrence similarly turned his criticism toward Barrett, saying: ‘Unlike Tom Barrett, I don’t avoid tough questions about my record and what I stand for’
And in December 2021, he posted lyrics aimed at older Democrats over Senator Joe Manchin’s opposition to parts of the party’s climate agenda. ‘Our generation says fk you for everything,’ Lawrence wrote, before adding: ‘Hurry up and die so that we can get started.’
Lawrence now says he no longer agrees with some of those positions.
In a statement to Our News Outlet, he said: ‘Like many millennials, I’ve done my fair share of thinking out loud on the internet. I’ve been clear that I disagree today with some things I posted in the past. I don’t support defunding the police or open borders.’
But some of his most inflammatory posts were directed at fellow Democrats.
After former Representative Abigail Spanberger criticized the ‘defund the police’ movement following the 2020 election, Lawrence accused moderate Democrats of throwing a ‘tantrum’ and warned that ‘timid Dems’ should leave the party if they could not accept the activist left.
In another post, he encouraged Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to mount a primary challenge against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, declaring: ‘It’s time for the Dem civil war to rage.’
Lawrence also took aim at Michigan Democrat Elissa Slotkin, writing that he was ‘ashamed to be represented’ by her and calling her a ‘supposed Democrat.’
In his statement to Our News Outlet, Lawrence said he no longer agreed with the remark about Slotkin, describing Slotkin as someone who has been ‘fiercely critical’ of the Trump administration’s war in Iran and is ‘doing essential work to protect the integrity of the upcoming election.’
He added that he remains ‘a staunch critic of the political status quo, and the obscene concentration of wealth and power that corrupts our politics and leaves working people unrepresented.’
His attacks extended beyond politics.
In a 2022 post, Lawrence railed against the traditional family structure, describing the nuclear-family home as an ‘isolating, individualistic, violent way of organizing society.’
And in December 2021, he posted lyrics aimed at older Democrats over Senator Joe Manchin’s opposition to parts of the party’s climate agenda.
‘Our generation says fk you for everything,’ Lawrence wrote, before adding: ‘Hurry up and die so that we can get started.’
The posts are particularly striking given Lawrence’s current campaign in Michigan’s 7th District, a closely divided seat that Donald Trump carried by less than two percentage points in 2024.
His campaign says the positions Lawrence expressed online as an organizer years ago are no longer representative of his political views.
‘These stances that Will took online as an organizer years ago are out of step with what he believes and is running on today.’
Lawrence also addressed the controversy directly in a post on X Friday, accusing billionaire-funded Super PACs of launching attack ads against him and ‘dredging up old tweets that I deleted because I didn’t agree with them anymore.’
‘As most millennials, I’ve spent my fair share of time thinking out loud on the internet,’ he wrote, adding that he had been ‘fiercely critical of BOTH parties.’
‘I’ve said some dumb things,’ Lawrence wrote.
He then sought to contrast his past social-media comments with his record and positions today, writing: ‘Unlike Tom Barrett, I’ve never voted to cut families’ health care. I’ve never voted for a senseless war. I’ve never voted to give tax breaks to data center developers. And I’ve never taken money from a corporation profiting from all of this.’
‘I don’t take orders from billionaires or party bosses,’ he added. ‘That’s why these billionaires are going all out to try to defeat me.’
In his statement to Our News Outlet, Lawrence similarly turned his criticism toward Barrett, saying: ‘Unlike Tom Barrett, I don’t avoid tough questions about my record and what I stand for.’
He accused Barrett of failing to answer to constituents ‘paying more for healthcare to fund billionaire tax breaks’ and ‘paying more for gas and groceries because he backed Trump’s reckless war in Iran.’
Lawrence won his party’s primary in August and will face Barrett in November in a race that could help determine control of the House.
The Daily Mail reached out to Barrett’s campaign for comment.
