a pause on AI development<\/a> in the wake of fears from some at the companies that the technology could eliminate humanity.<\/p>\n\u201cWe need to put a stop to this, because right now the whole thing is out of control and alarm bells are going off,\u201d Lawrence said at a press conference where he also urged the halting of data center construction.<\/p>\n
The co-founder of the aggressive environmental group The Sunrise Movement, Lawrence is not like the candidates who normally triumph in Michigan’s evenly-divided 7th Congressional District. The previous Democrat to have represented the district is currently Michigan’s junior senator, Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and steadfast moderate. Lawrence once pleaded online for moderate Democrats to \u201churry up and die.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants to show up and talk about data centers all day to distract from the vulnerability he has on abolishing the police and the border,\u201d Barrett, who is seeking a second term, said in an interview. <\/p>\n
Lawrence bristled at that charge, noting that he’s been protesting data centers since last fall when a wave of new projects was proposed across the district and the state. <\/p>\n
\u201cI’m talking about it because I give a damn about the people of this district,\u201d Lawrence said in an interview. \u201cMy whole career is about fighting back against corporate power, standing with regular working people who are getting screwed over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawrence says he’s moved on from many of his previous stances and online postings, including defunding the police or having open borders \u2014 a suggestion he said was made during more of a \u201cperformance.\u201d He declines to identify himself anymore as a socialist, saying an \u201cideological label\u201d leads to division. He let his membership in the DSA, whose Lansing chapter a member has said was founded in the living room of the building where Lawrence lived after college, lapse this summer. Lawrence’s campaign said he was not present at the founding.<\/p>\n
Some Republicans could not believe their luck when Lawrence beat two more traditional candidates in August’s Democratic primary. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe think it’s a comical mistake by the Democratic establishment to let somebody like him slip through,\u201d said Ty Bommarito, chair of the Michigan College Republicans and a senior at Michigan State University, the 51,000-student institution in Lawrence’s hometown of East Lansing.<\/p>\n
But other observers warned against underestimating Lawrence, who made a mark in the primary by energetically stumping across the district, which stretches from Detroit’s furthest exurbs to farming communities west of the state capital of Lansing, and has continued at a frenetic pace leading into the general election.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s more energy in this Lawrence campaign than I’ve seen for a very, very long time,\u201d said Lingg Brewer, an 81-year-old former Democratic state lawmaker in Lansing. \u201cThe excitement in this town I think equals that for Obama when he first ran.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawrence has spent plenty of time with students on Michigan State’s sprawling campus, but he’s also become a staple at meetings of residents \u2014 often farmers or other rural denizens \u2014 fighting data center proposals. Water-rich Michigan, whose Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer embraced the industry initially, has seen a wave of potential projects over the past year.<\/p>\n
On the night of the Mason council meeting, Lawrence had to pass on appearing at a simultaneous township council meeting on the opposite side of his district to stand against a different potential project there. <\/p>\n
Lawrence wore a cap in the same shade of red as President Donald Trump’s campaign hats, but with the phrase \u201cNo Data Centers in Mason\u201d instead of \u201cMake America Great Again.\u201d The standing-room-only meeting was full of people wearing identical caps.<\/p>\n
Lawrence’s reliable opposition to data centers has won him support from some unexpected quarters in the town of 8,000. \u201cI’m sure I disagree with a whole lot of his policies,\u201d Zach Bartels, 48, who identified himself as a conservative independent, said of Lawrence, \u201cbut right now I’m kind of a one-issue voter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick Lind, 51, regularly votes Republican, but he’s not sure if he will this year. \u201cThe partisan issue is going to be a lot less important than the data center issue,\u201d Lind said.<\/p>\n
Ashley Wickham, 38, says she’s never been involved in politics and hadn’t voted in a congressional primary before last month’s, which was open to any voter regardless of party affiliation. She cast her ballot for Lawrence, noting that he’s been to almost every anti-data center event over the past year. <\/p>\n
\u201cI’m definitely going to support him, because he supported me,\u201d said Wickham, who bought a house in Mason just before the potential data center was announced last November.<\/p>\n
At the time, the city said there was not an official proposed project but disclosed it was in discussions to annex 405 neighboring acres where a company could build a $1 billion hyperscale facility. The community has been convulsed with opposition ever since.<\/p>\n
Lawrence scolded the council members, who sat stoically through dozens of speeches. \u201cThey say there’s a significant chance that all human beings may be killed by what they’re building \u2014 what they want to build in Mason,\u201d Lawrence said. \u201cHow hard is it to just listen to the residents and just say \u2018No\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawrence threw barbs at Barrett, whom he has slammed for accepting donations from technology firms and voting last year for a version of Trump’s tax-and-budget bill that would have banned any state from regulating AI for 10 years. The provision was removed from the final version of the bill.<\/p>\n
A representative of Barrett’s office read a statement from the congressman, who was in Washington and could not attend the meeting. The statement reiterated Barrett’s view that local officials should decide on data centers rather than the federal government. In the interview, Barrett said he also favors limits on AI, and the 22-year Army veteran noted that he’s proposed legislation banning its use on the battlefield.<\/p>\n
Outside the Mason City Council chamber, Ewart said he’s urged Barrett to come out more forcefully against the project and warned the congressman about local disappointment with him. <\/p>\n
Ewart narrowly lost a Republican primary last month to represent the area in the state legislature, and he warned that voters shouldn’t gamble on Lawrence even if they oppose data centers. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe question is how fast the socialism comes in,\u201d Ewart said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
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