Bernie Sanders has thrown his weight behind Will Lawrence, a climate organizer running for Congress in one of the country's most competitive districts, in a primary battle shaped by the fight over massive artificial intelligence datacenters.
Lawrence, co-founder of the Sunrise Movement youth climate group, is seeking the Democratic nomination in Michigan's seventh congressional district, a swing area that has voted Republican in the last three presidential elections. Sanders called him an "accomplished organizer" who will "demand real accountability for big tech and AI companies" as enormous datacenters spread across the country.
The endorsement carries weight in a three-way primary. Lawrence has already won backing from progressive congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and has polled as the frontrunner in some surveys.
The seventh district, which includes Michigan's capital Lansing, has become ground zero for the datacenter fight. Three hyperscaler-size AI facilities are proposed in the region, while another was recently rejected by Lansing's city council.
Lawrence is calling for a nationwide moratorium on all new datacenters until lawmakers establish strict regulations. He argues they threaten jobs through AI automation, drain massive amounts of water, and drive up electricity bills. Nearly all proposed U.S. datacenters would rely on natural gas, he noted, making them incompatible with climate goals.
"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 a devastating impact on Michigan's climate," Lawrence said.
His two Democratic primary opponents, Bridget Brink and Matt Maasdam, have not embraced a moratorium. Brink, the former ambassador to Slovakia, argues that local communities should decide whether to host datacenters, with corporate transparency and environmental protections. Maasdam's campaign focuses on AI safety and protecting children online, without taking a position on facility construction.
Republican incumbent Tom Barrett, who won the seat in 2024, opposes a federal moratorium. His campaign consultant Jason Cabel Roe stated that Barrett believes local officials are best equipped to make those decisions, not the federal government.
Lawrence has made corporate funding a central campaign issue, pointing out that all three of his opponents have accepted money from tech investors and energy companies. He argues that Barrett has taken donations from energy PACs and follows orders from corporate donors and Trump. Brink's campaign rejected what it called "cynical smears," without directly addressing the funding question.
The race reflects a broader split within Michigan's political establishment. While Lawrence and other climate activists oppose the datacenter expansion, some state labor unions and local officials support the projects for the jobs and economic investment they promise. Lawrence said he sympathizes with those concerns but believes datacenters are ultimately a bad deal for working families.
"These big tech billionaires want us to be desperate, they want us to have no development opportunities, except for these very massive datacenters that very few people want," he said, adding that the facilities threaten long-term employment through automation.
The district has become a test case for whether climate and AI regulation can become winning populist issues for Democrats. Sanders' endorsement suggests the party's progressive wing sees Lawrence as the candidate best positioned to make that case in a district where Trump gained ground in recent elections.
Author James Rodriguez: "Lawrence has found a real nerve in a swing district where economic anxiety and environmental concerns overlap, but it remains unclear whether datacenter opposition alone can overcome the district's Republican lean in a general election."
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