Pro-Palestinian candidate supported by El-Sayed takes Michigan Democratic nomination for House

Michigan's 7th District witnessed a Democratic House primary victory on Tuesday for William Lawrence, a pro-Palestinian progressive, who received the support of fellow progressive Abdul El-Sayed. Running in contention were two establishment-backed candidates, Bridget Brink and Matt Maasdam, who split the centrist vote, leaving Lawrence with a 43% lead in the three-way race.

With 58% of votes counted, he secured 43% of the total, enough for the Associated Press to name him the winner. Lawrence, a co-founder of the climate advocacy group Sunrise Movement, campaigned on pro-Palestinian advocacy and accused Israel of genocide. He will face incumbent Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in November, a district that Democrats have targeted for flipping.

Despite facing opposition from the Congressional Black Caucus over his past comments about Black Democratic leaders, Lawrence's campaign is confident his focus on ending military support to human rights abusers and redirecting that money towards domestic issues will resonate with voters across party lines.