William Lawrence, a socialist candidate running for the Michigan House of Representatives, made several social media posts between 2020 and 2022 that expressed anti-capitalist and anti-establishment views. In one post from December 2021, he wrote "Hurry up and die" about centrist Democratic lawmakers in twisted song lyrics. Lawrence also called for the abolition of prisons and the Senate, as well as the eradication of borders, in several other deleted posts. The candidate has since claimed to disagree with these positions, blaming billionaire-funded SuperPACs for dredging up his old tweets.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Socialist Michigan House hopeful William Lawrence pined for the speedy demise of centrist Democratic lawmakers getting in the way of lefty policies in twisted song lyrics he penned and then posted on social media.
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he → pin → media
“So long, thanks for the memories […] Our generation says f–k you for everything […] From these ashes we will rebuild […] Hurry up and die so that we can get started,” Lawrence wrote in a December 2021 post.
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Lawrence → say → post
Lawrence, who is also the co-founder of the climate-focused Sunrise Movement, repeatedly raged against the nuclear family; called for the abolition of prisons and the Senate; and longed for the “eradication” of borders in several other since-deleted posts.
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who → focus → posts
“Biggest W of my late 20s was finding a long-term stable co-op house.
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W → find → house
F–k isolation and the nuclear family domicile,” he posted in 2021.
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he → f → 2021
“[T]he nuclear family home is an isolating, individualistic, violent way of organizing society,” Lawrence fumed in 2022.
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Lawrence → organize → 2022
“I don’t want to be part of that.”
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I → want → that
A few days later, the Democratic House candidate seemingly expressed a preference for “Queer families” and “wealth sharing” over “the hetero-patriarchial nuclear family” and “wealth accumulation.”
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candidate → express → family
In a 2020 post, Lawrence simply wrote: “Abolish the Senate.”
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Lawrence → write → Senate
He referred to efforts to “defund the police” during the violent riots in the wake of George Floyd’s killing as a “master class in expanding political horizons and a historic contribution to the Black liberation tradition.”
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He → refer → tradition
“We are nearer to a world without police and prisons because of their efforts,” Lawrence wrote in November 2021.
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Lawrence → write → November
That same year, he asked his followers to “envision a world of free and open migration.”
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he → ask → migration
“Feel your mind buck against the premise.
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mind → feel → premise
‘You mean, ANYBODY can move ANYWHERE??’
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ANYBODY → mean → ?
Yes!” Lawrence tweeted.
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Lawrence → tweet → ?
He added, “Our mission is the eradication of all forms of domination.
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mission → add → domination
In a statement provided to The Post, Lawrence claimed that he no longer supports the positions stated in the deleted X posts.
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he → provide → posts
“Like many millennials, I’ve done my fair share of thinking out loud on the internet,” he said.
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he → do → internet
“I’ve been clear that I disagree today with some things I posted in the past.
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I → disagree → past
I don’t support defunding the police or open borders.”
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I → support → police
“I remain a staunch critic of the political status quo, and the obscene concentration of wealth and power that corrupts our politics and leaves working people unrepresented,” Lawrence added.
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Lawrence → remain → people
On X, the House hopeful acknowledged that he’s “said some dumb things” and blamed “Billionaire-funded SuperPACs” for “dredging up old tweets that I deleted because I didn’t agree with them anymore.”
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I → acknowledge → them
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Report → start → news
“I don’t take orders from billionaires or party bosses.
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I → take → billionaires
That’s why these billionaires are going all out to try to defeat me,” Lawrence argued.
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Lawrence → ’ → me
Lawrence is running against GOP incumbent Tom Barrett in a swing district that went for President Trump over former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 by 1 percentage point and Biden over Trump in 2020 by the same margin.
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that → run → margin
Earlier this month, Lawrence told CNN he was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America up until July.
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he → tell → July
At a campaign event the same month he left the DSA, Lawrence acknowledged: “People will call me a socialist.
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People → leave → me
Sometimes I call me, call myself, a socialist, other times not.
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I → call → myself
The House hopeful counts endorsements from socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Democratic socialist congressional candidates Melat Kiros (Colorado) and Chris Rabb (Pennsylvania), New York’s Democratic nominee for the 10th District Brad Lander and anti-Israel “Squad” Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), among others.
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hopeful → count → others
Lawrence is running against an incumbent Republican in a highly competitive Michigan swing district.
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Lawrence → run → district
Lawrence said he wrote the song after centrist Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin came out against former President Joe Biden's Build Back Better plan.
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Manchin → say → plan
Lawrence claims he no longer agrees with what he wrote in the deleted tweets.
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he → claim → tweets
