Progressive activist wins Democratic primary in one of the nation’s biggest House races

Democrat William Lawrence, a co-founder of the progressive Sunrise Movement, has won his party’s primary in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, NBC News projects — a big victory for the insurgent left that also sets up a dramatic general election contrast with Republicans in a crucial battleground seat.

Voters in five states participated in primaries Tuesday, including several with major battleground districts up for grabs in November. And few are more hotly contested than this Michigan district, where Lawrence bested two prominent Democratic rivals with national security backgrounds after having differentiated himself as the more liberal candidate and as an aggressive critic of data centers.

Meanwhile, the battle between his two Democratic opponents, former Ambassador Bridget Brink and retired Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam, became increasingly bitter as the race drew to a close, and the two candidates ultimately appear to have split the more moderate wing of the party.

Lawrence will take on GOP Rep. Tom Barrett in one of the most tightly divided swing seats in the country. President Donald Trump carried the district by just 1 percentage point in 2024, and super PACs and other outside groups have reserved more ad spending there than in all but one other House race in the country.

Lawrence won support from an array of prominent progressives and outside groups, and a mysterious super PAC spent more than $1 million in the race’s final weeks to boost him and tear Maasdam down. The spending raised concerns among some Democrats that Republicans might be boosting Lawrence because they think he’ll be easier to beat in the general election.

Michigan voters are also cementing other key battleground House races Tuesday, albeit with less fanfare.

In Michigan’s 4th District, Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga will face off against Democratic state Sen. Sean McCann in the Kalamazoo-area district. Huizenga had Trump’s backing, while McCann was endorsed by top Democrats in the state like Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

Republicans are still waiting to find out who will be their nominee against Democratic Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet. And in the 10th District in suburban Detroit, which is being left open by GOP Rep. John James and his run for governor, Trump-endorsed military veteran Mike Bouchard will run against Democrat Christina Hines, a former special victims prosecutor.

In Virginia, the matchups are set in four districts expected to fit into the battleground puzzle in different ways this fall.

In the Norfolk area, Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans and Democratic former Rep. Elaine Luria head to a rematch of the 2022 2nd District election, which Kiggans won. In the Richmond-area 1st District, Republican Rep. Rob Wittman will face Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor in a district that could be competitive this fall — one that Trump won by 5 points in 2024.

Farther out on the battlefield, Democratic Rep. Eugene Vindman will face off against Republican Doug Ollivant, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, in the Fredericksburg-area 7th District, a race in which Vindman will start with a significant resource advantage. And Republican Rep. John McGuire will run against Democratic former Rep. Tom Perriello in a district Trump won by 12 points in 2024.

Missouri is home to one of Republicans’ best opportunities to gain a seat this fall after the GOP-controlled state Legislature redrew the congressional map to put Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver into a seat Trump won by 18 points in 2024.

Republican Rick Brattin, a state senator backed by Gov. Mike Kehoe and the Club for Growth, is projected to win the nomination there, with Trump having weighed in for him in the race’s final days.

In Washington state, Republicans are targeting Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in a district Trump won by 3 points in 2024. She will face state Senate Republican leader John Braun, who has Trump’s endorsement, this fall.

Meanwhile, two Democratic incumbents faced serious primary challenges Tuesday. One, Rep. Wesley Bell of Missouri, is projected to win his primary, a rematch against former Rep. Cori Bush, whom he defeated in 2024. The other, Rep. Shri Thanedar of Michigan, is narrowly leading state Rep. Donavan McKinney in a race that has not yet been called.

Voters in a handful of safe seats are also picking nominees who are all but certain to win this fall.

In Michigan’s Oakland County, state Senate Democratic leader Jeremy Moss cruised to victory in Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens’ district, with Stevens running for the Senate.

In Missouri, Salem Radio Network host Chris Stigall won the Republican primary in the seat from which GOP Rep. Sam Graves is retiring.

And in Washington’s 4th District, Trump-backed Yakima County Commission member Amanda McKinney will move on to face retired Air Force Maj. John Duresky, a Democrat, in a red seat Trump won by about 20 points in 2024.

GOP Rep. Dan Newhouse, one of the last remaining House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in 2021, is retiring.