Hundreds Of Deleted Posts Reveal Swing-District Democrat May Be Most Insane Yet

William Lawrence, the Democratic nominee in one of the country’s most closely watched House races, deleted hundreds of social media posts in which the former Democratic Socialists of America member called for abolishing the Senate, eliminating police and prisons, ending fossil-fuel production, opening borders, and dismantling the nuclear family.

The posts, first reported by CNN, many of which were written under an older Twitter handle, offer a striking look at the views Lawrence expressed while building his career as a progressive organizer and co-founding the Sunrise Movement.

Lawrence is now the Democratic nominee in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, where he will face Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in November. Lawrence won the August Democratic primary with roughly 44% of the vote, defeating former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink and former Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam. The race is expected to be among the most competitive in the country, putting Lawrence’s old rhetoric under the microscope as Democrats attempt to flip the seat.

Among the deleted posts was a 2021 message in which Lawrence praised the “defund the police” movement for bringing America “nearer to a world without police and prisons.” He also argued that fossil-fuel production should be ended through “forced nationalization,” while calling for President Joe Biden to end the coal industry through executive action. Lawrence also wrote that America should “Abolish the Senate.”

In 2021, Lawrence wrote, “F**k isolation and the nuclear family domicile,” while praising communal living. The following year, he described the nuclear-family home as an “isolating, individualistic, violent way of organizing society.” He subsequently argued that the “hetero-patriarchal nuclear family” was a material foundation of wealth accumulation and praised “queer” families as creating conditions for “solidarity and wealth sharing.”

Lawrence also wrote that he wanted to “imagine a world beyond the nation-state and capitalism,” declared “Racial capitalism is the problem. Empire is the problem,” and advocated for “a world of free and open migration.”

His hostility was not limited to conservative policies. The deleted posts include repeated attacks on moderate Democrats, including former Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who currently serves in the Senate. In 2020, Lawrence said he was “ashamed to be represented” by Slotkin and referred to her as a “supposed Democrat” after she responded to President Donald Trump’s killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.

He also attacked then-Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) after she criticized the “defund the police” movement, dismissing her comments as a “tantrum” and suggesting that “timid Dems” could leave the party if they could not accept the activist left.

During another fight over President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, Lawrence called for leftists to go “scorched earth” against Democrats who opposed them. At another point, he declared, “It’s time for the Dem civil war to rage.”

Perhaps the most disturbing example came in 2021, when Lawrence posted lyrics for a song inspired by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s opposition to portions of the party’s climate agenda. “Our generation says f**k you for everything,” Lawrence wrote in the lyrics. “Hurry up and die so that we can get started.”

Lawrence has since attempted to distance himself from at least some of his old views. He told CNN that he no longer supports defunding the police or open borders and said his previous comments about Slotkin were wrong. He also said his membership in the Democratic Socialists of America had lapsed in July.

“Like many millennials, I’ve done my fair share of thinking out loud on the Internet,” Lawrence said, adding that he disagrees with some things he posted in the past.

But Lawrence has hardly abandoned the political movement that produced his earlier rhetoric, and his campaign has been endorsed by prominent figures on the far left, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). His campaign platform includes “healthcare for all,” higher taxes on wealthy Americans, a federal moratorium on data centers, and ending U.S. involvement in the war in Iran. His campaign also emphasizes opposition to corporate political money.

Lawrence’s candidacy had already caused concern among more moderate Democrats. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) previously argued that Lawrence was not the candidate capable of winning the district, while Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) said his history of inflammatory rhetoric demonstrated a lack of judgment and temperament.

Now, however, Lawrence is no longer simply a left-wing activist trying to win a democratic primary by running to the left — he is the Democratic nominee in a district Republicans must defend. In November, voters in Michigan’s 7th will get to decide whether Lawrence’s explanation that his old posts were merely “thinking out loud” is enough to put them behind the candidate who once wrote them.