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Brenda Lawrence (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Michigan's 14th Congressional District. She assumed office on January 6, 2015. Her current term ends on January 3, 2021.
Lawrence (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Michigan's 14th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on August 4, 2020.
Lawrence was first elected in 2014, and was re-elected in 2016 and 2018. She previously ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2012.
Lawrence has served as the vice chair of the Congressional Caucus on Women’s Issues and the Democratic Women's Working Group, secretary of the Congressional Black Caucus, and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption.
Prior to joining the House, Lawrence served as mayor of Southfield, Michigan, for 13 years.
Lawrence was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. After graduating from high school, she married and settled in Southfield, Michigan. She worked as a manager for the United States Postal Service and became involved in the Southfield Board of Education and City Council.
Before being elected to Congress, Lawrence was elected to be the first black woman to serve as mayor of Southfield. She served three terms and was in office from 2001 until 2014. While serving, she earned a bachelor's degree from Central Michigan University in 2005. During her time as mayor, she was the president of the National Association of Democratic Mayors.
Below is an abbreviated outline of Lawrence's academic, professional, and political career:
Former Member, Aviation Subcommittee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Highways and Transit Subcommittee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Small Business Committee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Subcommittee on National Security, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, United States House of Representatives
Member, Appropriations
Member, Oversight and Reform
Member, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Member, Subcommittee on Government Operations
Member, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Member, Subcommittee on National Security
Ranking Member, Subcommittee on the Interior
Member, Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
— Awards:
Names of Grandchildren:
Asya
1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-choice
1. In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- Yes
2. Do you support expanding federal funding to support entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare?
- Yes
1. Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- Unknown Position
Do you support the protection of government officials, including law enforcement officers, from personal liability in civil lawsuits concerning alleged misconduct?
- No
Do you support increasing defense spending?
- Unknown Position
1. Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes
2. Do you support lowering corporate taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No
3. Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19?
- Yes
1. Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards?
- Unknown Position
1. Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)?
- Yes
2. Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes
1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- Yes
1. Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
- No
2. Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19?
- Yes
1. Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border?
- No
2. Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?
- No
1. Should the United States use military force to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a weapon of mass destruction (for example: nuclear, biological, chemical)?
- No
2. Do you support reducing military intervention in Middle East conflicts?
- Unknown Position
Do you generally support removing barriers to international trade (for example: tariffs, quotas, etc.)?
- Yes
1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-choice
1. In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- Yes
2. In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending?
- Yes
1. Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- Unknown Position
1. Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes
2. Do you support lowering corporate taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No
1. Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards?
- Unknown Position
1. Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- Yes
2. Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes
1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- Yes
1. Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
- No
1. Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border?
- No
2. Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?
- No
Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes?
- Unknown Position
1. Should the United States use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a nuclear weapon?
- Yes
2. Do you support increased American intervention in Middle Eastern conflicts beyond air support?
- Yes
Latest Action: House - 06/21/2019 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Tracker:Latest Action: House - 06/19/2019 Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
Tracker:Latest Action: House - 06/20/2019 Committee Agreed to Seek Consideration Under Suspension of the Rules.
Tracker:
The primary will occur on August 4, 2020. The general election will occur on November 3, 2020. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Incumbent Brenda Lawrence and Terrance Morrison are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 14 on August 4, 2020.
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Brenda Lawrence (D) |
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Terrance Morrison (D) |
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Gavriel Grossbard, Daryle Houston, and Robert Vance Patrick are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 14 on August 4, 2020.
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Gavriel Grossbard (R) |
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Daryle Houston (R) |
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Robert Vance Patrick (R) |
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Incumbent Brenda Lawrence (D) defeated Marc Herschfus (R) and Philip Kolody (Working Class Party) in the general election for U.S. House Michigan District 14 on November 6, 2018.
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Brenda Lawrence (D) |
80.9%
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214,334 Votes✔ |
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Marc Herschfus (R) |
17.3%
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45,899 Votes |
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Philip Kolody (Working Class Party) |
1.8%
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4,761 Votes |
Total votes: 264,994
Incumbent Brenda Lawrence advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 14 on August 7, 2018.
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Brenda Lawrence (D) |
100%
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106,464 Votes✔ |
Total votes: 106,464
Marc Herschfus advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 14 on August 7, 2018.
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Marc Herschfus (R) |
100%
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18,546 Votes✔ |
Total votes: 18,546
rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Brenda Lawrence (D) defeated Howard Klausner (R), Gregory Creswell (L), and Marcia Squier (G) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Lawrence defeated Terrance Morrison and Vanessa Moss in the Democratic primary on August 2, 2016.
U.S. House, Michigan District 14 General Election, 2016
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Brenda Lawrence Incumbent |
78.5% | 244,135 |
| Republican | Howard Klausner | 18.7% | 58,103 |
| Libertarian | Gregory Creswell | 1.6% | 4,893 |
| Green | Marcia Squier | 1.2% | 3,843 |
| Total Votes | 310,974 | ||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State | |||
U.S. House, Michigan District 14 Democratic Primary, 2016
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Brenda Lawrence Incumbent |
87.4% | 55,544 | ||
| Terrance Morrison | 8.3% | 5,253 | ||
| Vanessa Moss | 4.4% | 2,770 | ||
| Total Votes | 63,567 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State |
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Lawrence ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent Michigan's 14th District. Lawrence won the Democratic nomination in the primary on August 5, 2014, defeating Rudy Hobbs, Hansen Clarke and Burgess Foster. She defeated Christina Barr (R), Stephen Boyle (Green) and Leonard Schwartz (Libertarian) in the general election on November 4, 2014.
U.S. House, Michigan District 14 General Election, 2014
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Brenda Lawrence |
77.8% | 165,272 |
| Republican | Christina Barr | 19.7% | 41,801 |
| Libertarian | Leonard Schwartz | 1.6% | 3,366 |
| Green | Stephen Boyle | 0.9% | 1,999 |
| Total Votes | 212,438 | ||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State | |||
U.S. House, Michigan District 14 Democratic Primary, 2014
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hansen Clarke | 30.9% | 22,866 | ||
| Burgess Foster | 1.1% | 831 | ||
| Rudy Hobbs | 32.4% | 23,996 | ||
| Brenda Lawrence |
35.6% | 26,387 | ||
| Total Votes | 74,080 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State | ||||
Lawrence ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Michigan's 14th District. She was defeated by incumbent Gary Peters in the August 7 Democratic primary.
Michigan's 14th Congressional District Democratic Primary, 2012
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Gary Peters |
47% | 41,230 |
| Hansen Clark | 35.2% | 30,847 |
| Brenda Lawrence | 13.3% | 11,644 |
| Mary Waters | 3.3% | 2,919 |
| Bob Costello | 1.2% | 1,027 |
| Total Votes | 87,667 | |
Lawrence faced Brian Calley (R), Lynn Meadows (G), Erwin J. Haas (L) and Chris Levels (U.S. Taxpayers) in the general election on November 2, 2010. Calley won the election.
