William Lawrence, a data center moratorium supporter who co-founded the progressive Sunrise Movement, won a critical Michigan congressional primary Tuesday over two more-moderate and better-funded Democrats.
Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive former public health official who favors extensive new standards for data centers, had yet to clinch the nomination for U.S. Senate ON Wednesday morning but was ahead of Rep. Haley Stevens with most votes counted.
Lawrence, a community organizer, staked a large portion of his bid for the 7th District seat on data center concerns, featuring the issue in multiple television advertisements and on the campaign trail.
He supports a nationwide moratorium on new data centers, due to concerns about their impact on electricity prices, water supplies, noise and other worries.
“It turns out that if you’re not taking money from Silicon Valley, you can fight hard for a federal moratorium on data centers,” Lawrence told supporters in a victory speech.
And in a statement, he said, “Tonight the people of Michigan’s 7th District sent a clear message: they are tired of Silicon Valley billionaires and DC insiders determining the future of our towns and our country. They want an unbought representative who isn’t afraid to stand up to leaders of both parties and fight for working people.”
Lawrence beat Bridget Brink and Matt Maasdam, both of whom back more narrow environmental and transparency standards for data centers and letting local communities decide whether they should be built.
He’ll face incumbent Rep. Tom Barrett (R) in the November general election in what is expected to be one of the country’s most competitive races. Barrett told POLITICO he’s taking the challenge seriously.
“The two other candidates that ran just really didn’t take him seriously the entire time, we’re not going to make that same mistake,” the Republican said after the race was called. “We are not in any way going to be taking this for granted or taking it lightly.”
El-Sayed also put a big emphasis on data centers in his Senate campaign. He was an early proponent of strict standards for the facilities and in January released a platform calling for rules on environmental protection, union jobs and community benefits.
He went into Tuesday with a polling advantage, but his lead ahead of Stevens got smaller as election returns came in. Nonetheless, NBC News is projecting El-Sayed to be the winner.
“I wish I could tell you that I was declaring victory right about now. Turns out it takes a long time to count some votes in Michigan,” El-Sayed told supporters early Wednesday morning.
Whoever nabs the Democratic Senate nomination will go up against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R) in the general election.
In Michigan’s 13th District Democratic primary, progressive challenger Donavan McKinney was slightly ahead of incumbent Rep. Shri Thanedar, but too close to call as of Wednesday morning.
Outside Michigan, another big proponent for curbing data centers was victorious. Cindy Holscher won the Democratic primary to be Kansas’ next governor, after endorsing a statewide moratorium on data center construction.
Liz Crampton contributed to this report.
