MICHIGAN’S SEVENTH DISTRICT — U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders endorsed Will Lawrence for the Democratic nomination in Michigan's seventh congressional district, backing the Sunrise Movement co-founder in a three-way primary. Lawrence, who helped found the youth-led climate justice group, is running to challenge Republican incumbent Tom Barrett in a district the Cook Political Report has labeled competitive ahead of the November midterm elections.

"Will is running an energizing, people-powered campaign and building a strong grassroots coalition that is prepared to stand up to Big Money interests," Sanders said. "Will is exactly the kind of leader we need in Congress, and I'm proud to support his campaign," he added.

Lawrence has also been endorsed by Representative Rashida Tlaib. Some polls have shown him as the frontrunner in the Democratic primary.

The seventh district covers a southern-central swath of Michigan that includes Lansing, the state capital. Voters in the district supported Donald Trump in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential elections and elected Barrett to Congress in 2024.

Lawrence has campaigned as an outspoken opponent of AI data centers, calling for a nationwide moratorium until lawmakers develop stringent regulations. Three hyperscaler-size AI data centers have been proposed in the district, and Lansing's city council struck down another proposed facility. Lawrence has stood alongside residents in Lansing and elsewhere to rally against the proposals.

Lawrence said data centers fuel AI which threatens many American jobs, consume water, and can push up utility bills due to their massive electricity needs. "Data centers put a tremendous, unprecedented and unexpected burden on the grid to increase overall demand. And there's just no plan to do that in a clean way," he said. Speaking about plans to power the facilities, Lawrence said, "It's a form of climate denial, it really is, if you think that we're going to be able to bring all this natural gas online and it's not going to have have a devastating impact on Michigan's climate."

Barrett does not support a national data center moratorium. Bridget Brink has not endorsed a temporary ban. State labor unions and local officials have supported AI data center proposals in the region to seek jobs and investment.

"Whether a community chooses to have data centers is up to those communities. The federal government should not tell local officials what businesses they can or cannot have," said Jason Cabel Roe, a campaign consultant, who said Barrett believes local communities and their elected officials are best equipped to decide about building data centers.

A spokesperson for Brink said, "Local communities should hold the decision making power on building data centers, with transparency and accountability from corporations and government officials." The spokesperson added that "Any data center project should insure hard working Michigan families won't pay higher utility rates, data centers don't strain our grid and rely on their own clean energy power and utility infrastructure, communities aren't hurt, and our environment is protected."