LANSING—Will Lawrence wants Mid-Michigan voters to follow the money.
Standing just a few steps from the state Capitol this week, the Democrat who is challenging US Rep. Tom Barrett launched a 24-town closing tour built around one main argument: that he’s the only candidate in the race who hasn’t been bought.
“I’m running to be an unbought and independent-minded representative for the people, not another lackey for the corporations and billionaires on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley,” Lawrence said outside Barrett’s former Lansing office on Tuesday.
Lawrence is calling it the “Main Street, Not Wall Street” tour.
Starting Wednesday morning in Howell, Lawrence will spend the final days ahead of the Nov. 3 election at local coffee shops, diners, farmers markets, and small businesses—and knocking doors—in towns across every county in the 7th Congressional District.
Follow the money
Lawrence has refused corporate PAC money throughout the campaign, and on Tuesday he cast that pledge as the clearest difference between him and Barrett.
“If I was taking money from these same Wall Street firms, from these same Silicon Valley firms, from these same defense manufacturers who are the ones that are getting rich off of this war in Iran, and from the same health insurance companies that are the ones squeezing us, how could I possibly claim to stand up for the people of this district and do what’s right when the chips are down?” Lawrence asked.
Barrett, he added, “has taken money from all these industries.”
Lawrence’s campaign pointed to contributions Barrett has received from political action committees tied to DTE Energy, Microsoft, Enbridge, SpaceX, and Anthropic—along with more than $120,000 routed through the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Lawrence also pointed to a wave of late spending from Trump’s allies, which has helped balloon total ad spending in the race to more than $61 million—making it the most expensive US House race in the country for advertising, according to WKAR.
“That’s how desperate Trump and his allies are to prop up Tom Barrett,” Lawrence said.
It’s worth noting: The outside money hasn’t all flowed one direction.
Lawrence and groups backing him have now spent more than $33 million on ads, compared with about $27 million for Barrett and his allies, Bridge Michigan reports. That includes significant support from super PACs tied to Democratic leadership in the US House.
From donors to dinner tables
Lawrence argued the corporate contributions help explain how Barrett votes.
This week, he blamed Barrett and Trump for the Republican reconciliation law that cut roughly $1 trillion from Medicaid and other health programs, for the loss of food assistance for more than 160,000 Michiganders, and for gas and diesel prices driven up by the war in Iran.
“Is your American dream nearer or farther away now than it was two years ago?” Lawrence asked. “Tom Barrett and Donald Trump have moved the American dream farther from reach while delivering windfall profits to the richest 0.1% of Americans.”
Taking questions from reporters, Lawrence said voters have come to his campaign office worried about Medicaid work requirements that take effect in January. He described one, a full-time caregiver for a spouse, who couldn’t get a clear answer on whether they’d be exempt.
“That’s the kind of thing people are going through,” Lawrence said, “just absolute fear and anxiety not knowing whether they’re gonna be cared for in January.”
Running through the tape
The tour is the latest stretch of a campaign Lawrence has built on showing up in person.
Earlier this month, he held eight unscripted town halls across the district in six days, pitching himself to voters as “an open book.” He’s also spent hours fielding questions from anyone who stopped by at recent “Ask-Me-Anything” events outside Barrett’s Lansing office.
In contrast, Barrett hasn’t held an in-person town hall since taking office—though his office says his telephone and online town halls have still reached thousands of constituents.
“I’m focused on trying to form a direct and personal connection with the voters in as many ways as possible,” Lawrence said Tuesday. “That’s why we’ve been doing the ‘Ask-Me-Anythings.’ That’s why we’ve done the town halls. That’s why we’re doing this tour over the next week, just to run through the tape, take every single opportunity to meet people face to face.”
Lawrence said the same idea shaped his closing TV ad: a single unedited take of him speaking straight to the camera, which he contrasted with the “AI-generated nonsense” in other ads. The tour can’t reach all of the district’s 100-plus townships, he said, but it will stop in every county.
Lawrence’s tour stops include Howell, South Lyon, Pinckney, Brighton, Grand Ledge, Potterville, Charlotte, Olivet, Eaton Rapids, Dimondale, Durand, Corunna, Owosso, Ovid, St. Johns, DeWitt, Leslie, Dansville, Holt, Mason, Williamston, Fowlerville, Perry, and Laingsburg.
Click here to find an event in your community.
Early voting is underway statewide. Election Day is Nov. 3.
READ MORE: Unions line up behind Will Lawrence as corporate PACs back Tom Barrett
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