CATCH UP QUICK: What to Know About the MI-07 Race Between Will Lawrence and Tom Barrett

Refresh your memory on what Michiganders have learned about Tom Barrett:

• Tom Barrett sides with Trump, not Michigan. He voted with Trump 99% of the time, even when it raised costs: backing the Big Ugly Bill that raised health care premiums by over 60%. Barrett supported Trump’s tariffs that are making the cost of everyday goods like groceries spike by over $5,600 for the average family.
• Tom Barrett voted to spend billions of dollars on Trump’s wasteful Iran War, even as the war causes Michiganders’ costs to skyrocket.
• An AI data center developer spent nearly a million dollars supporting Tom Barrett’s campaign. Then he voted with Trump to give data center developers over $80 billion in new tax breaks just days after a data center developer’s PAC gave thousands more to his campaign. He even voted to ban local governments from regulating AI and data centers for a decade.
• Barrett has taken tens of thousands of dollars from PACs for greedy utility companies jacking up our energy bills. He’s sided with them and Trump, voting to raise Michigan energy costs by hundreds of dollars per year.
• Barrett got caught funneling nearly $56,000 dollars in campaign cash to firms his wife worked for, payments he began making and in one case doubled after she was hired, and faced scrutiny for paying himself over $20,000 in mileage reimbursements that far exceeds the average reimbursements of the rest of the Michigan delegation

Key reads about Barrett’s toxic record:

• Politico: Tom Barrett’s (R-Mich.) campaign and affiliated committees have paid two firms his wife works for more than $50,000 for political work
• Michigan Advance: GOP Rep. Barrett scrutinized over payments to firms employing spouse
• Detroit Metro Times: Rep. Barrett claimed enough campaign driving to circle Earth once — and then some
• Michigan Independent: Barrett voted in 2025 for policies that increase costs, despite campaign promises
• American Journal: Barrett took big money from donors who profited from GOP tax law
• Reuters: Tables turn as Republicans face gas-price attacks they once used on Democrats
• Detroit Metro Times: John James and Tom Barrett are keeping campaign cash from a Republican accused of burning his ex-wife and holding a gun to her head
• American Journal: Barrett’s health care record undercuts campaign ad
• WLNS: A bill to enforce congressional oversight could also put VA funding at risk

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