Dems boost convicted radical-left candidate, reigniting tensions inside the party

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The House Democrats' campaign arm is embracing a far-left candidate with a long trail of controversial and inflammatory comments — along with an arrest record — who won their party's nomination in a crucial congressional swing district in battleground Michigan, after holding off on helping him for over a month.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) this week expanded its target list of GOP-controlled House seats it is aiming to flip as Democrats work to recapture control of the chamber in the midterm elections. One of the three candidates added to the committee's "Red to Blue" program is Will Lawrence of Michigan.

Lawrence was arrested in 2013 on charges of resisting police during a protest. Documents obtained by Fox News showed Lawrence was charged with trespassing and with resisting and obstructing an officer. He has said the conviction was later expunged.

Lawrence has also deleted hundreds of past controversial social media posts, including support for scrapping police and prisons, open borders, abolishing the Senate, calling for a Democratic Party "civil war" and bashing the nuclear family, which he characterized as part of a "violent way of organizing society."

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A former Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member who says he let his membership lapse, Lawrence has walked back many of his previous statements, including once calling for defunding the police.

He told Fox News Digital in a statement last month, "I don't support defunding the police. I follow the lead of first responders and gun violence prevention advocates I have met with here in the district, who support increased funding for youth programs, mental health resources, and community violence intervention, working in collaboration with law enforcement."

Lawrence has also distanced himself from some of his other comments, telling CNN, "Like many millennials, I’ve done my fair share of thinking out loud on the internet."

Lawrence, a co-founder of the progressive Sunrise Movement, topped two establishment-backed rivals in last month's Democratic primary in Michigan, in a heated nomination showdown that further fueled the party's civil war between the far-left and the center-left.

He's now challenging first-term Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in Michigan's 7th Congressional District, a Lansing-anchored seat that President Donald Trump carried by just one point in the 2024 election.

Lawrence's addition to the DCCC program came more than a month after his primary victory. That's not out of the ordinary, as the DCCC and the rival National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) sometimes take a few weeks before elevating primary winners, as they consider polling, fundraising, and other considerations

But Democratic sources told Fox News Digital that some progressives had grown frustrated with the delay. The DCCC waited, in part, out of deference to Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) leaders, according to a CNN report, as Lawrence faced criticism over past comments about Black politicians.

The CBC has yet to endorse Lawrence, in part because of his 2024 podcast comments criticizing Black political leaders, calling them a "pillar" of the "capitalist, imperialist" American establishment. Lawrence has apologized for those comments and for also charging that Black political leaders "defang the White left."

Fox News Digital reached out to the CBC, but didn't receive a response at the time this article posted.

Adding Lawrence to the DCCC list is getting some pushback by centrist Democrats.

"I think they waited so long because he is a pretty far-left candidate running in a swing district that is currently held by a Republican and two, he has said something very, very controversial about African-Americans and that’s not great combination when you’re trying to win a swing district," Matt Bennett, co-founder and executive vice president of the Democratic centrist think tank Third Way told Fox News Digital.

"It could further exacerbate tensions within the party" if Lawrence hasn't been able to patch up his relationship with the CBC, Bennett added.

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In making her announcement on Tuesday, DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene said that Lawrence and the two other candidates added to the 'Red to Blue' program, Democrat Mitchell Berman of Wisconsin and independent Bill Hill of Alaska, "represent the very best of their communities—unbought, practical leaders who know what it takes to win in tough districts."

"While Tom Barrett sides with Trump and the corporate special interests, Will Lawrence sides with the people. He stands up to anyone trying to take advantage of Michigan, and in Congress he’ll keep fighting to give the community that raised him a fair shot," DelBene added.

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But NRCC Spokesman Zach Bannon pilloried the move by the DCCC to add Lawrence to its list.

"D.C. Democrats are embracing Socialist William Lawrence, who wants to abolish the police, abolish prisons, ban fossil fuels, allow sex changes for kids, and advance every other far-left liberal policy in mid-Michigan," Bannon charged.

Meanwhile, NRCC National Press Secretary Mike Marinella took to social media to post a long list of Lawrence's past controversial comments.

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With the additions of Lawrence, Hill, and Berman, the DCCC now has 40 races on its target list.

"This is just the latest sign that MI-07 is one of the most competitive races anywhere in the country," Lawrence said on X as he commented on the DCCC's move. "And it’s a vote of confidence that our people powered campaign fighting to bring down the cost of living and standing up to corporate power is gaining momentum."

Fox News' Liz Elkind contributed to this report.

Paul Steinhauser covers the national campaign trail from coast to coast for Fox News