LANSING—William Lawrence’s first “Ask Me Anything” event was at a desk on the sidewalk outside the office of the Republican congressman he’s trying to unseat this year.
Lawrence, the Democratic nominee challenging US Rep. Tom Barrett in November, said Barrett has not hosted an unscripted, in-person town hall since he was elected in 2024.
So, in response, Lawrence pulled up a desk in front of Barrett’s office, sat there for eight hours, and fielded questions from nearly 100 people on a mid-June day earlier this summer.
And now he’s doing it across the entire district.
This week, Lawrence announced seven open-air events—beginning Aug. 21 in Pinckney and running through Aug. 29. There’s no stage, no microphones, and no pre-screened questions; Lawrence just sets up a table and whoever walks up can ask whatever they want.
The “Ask Me Anything” tour includes stops at farmers markets, a food truck night, and a car show. On Aug. 24, Lawrence plans to return to the sidewalk outside Barrett’s office in Lansing. Three days later, he will take more questions at the farmers market in Barrett’s hometown.
“My commitment remains to show up in every corner of the district and answer any question from any voter,” Lawrence said. “I look forward to having people come up and ask me about policy, what’s on their mind, what they want to know about me, my priorities for the district.”
Lawrence has held roughly half a dozen similar events in recent months, including at farmers markets and other high-traffic spots. He said the response is what convinced him to scale up.
“People are just so happy to have somebody they can actually talk to,” Lawrence told The ‘Gander this week. “We’re used to having representatives who don’t actually represent us, because they spend all their time talking to super wealthy donors rather than regular people.”
Barrett, a first-term Republican, has not held an in-person town hall since taking office in January 2025—though his office has hosted telephone town halls. Lawrence contends that’s not enough to adequately represent the roughly 800,000 people who live in the 7th District.
“They’ve made phone calls, written emails, and what they get back is form letters—if they get any response at all,” he said. “His staff write responses that don’t actually address the question.”
Asked whether he had a direct message for Barrett’s team, Lawrence didn’t mince words.
“It’s too late,” Lawrence said. “Everything you’re doing now is scrambling to make up for everything you didn’t do in your first 18 months in office, and people are not going to be fooled.”
Lawrence acknowledges that events like this can sometimes invite hostility—especially when anyone can walk up, including people who might dislike him or his policy positions. Still, he pledged to continue the format if he wins by holding at least one unscripted Q&A per quarter.
“That’s part of the job,” Lawrence said. “Disagreement is part of life, and getting to hear each other out is part of achieving deeper understanding.”
About the race
Democrats picked Lawrence as their nominee to challenge Barrett, who ran unopposed in the primary. Lawrence—a local community organizer who co-founded the Sunrise Movement—beat two Democratic candidates with national security credentials and far more campaign money.
Lawrence is running an anti-establishment campaign centered largely on supporting a federal moratorium on new data centers, opposition to the war in Iran, and describing Israel’s conduct in Gaza as “genocide”. He has also campaigned alongside Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, US Sen. Bernie Sanders, and US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
A poll released this week by House Majority PAC found Lawrence with a two-point edge over Barrett, 49% to 47%. The poll also found 35% of district voters view Barrett favorably and 47% unfavorably. The Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up. The general election is Nov. 3.
READ MORE: Lawrence bets Michigan’s 7th Congressional District is ready for a fight
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