William Lawrence, the Democratic nominee in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, posted song lyrics in December 2021 saying he wanted Sen. Joe Manchin to “hurry up and die,” according to a CNN review of hundreds of deleted social media posts published Friday.

The lyrics were written in response to Manchin’s opposition to major portions of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, including progressive climate policies. Lawrence wrote that his generation was telling moderates “fuck you for everything” before calling for them to “hurry up and die so that we can get started.”

The posts were made while Lawrence was working as a progressive activist and co-founder of the Sunrise Movement, a climate organization that helped push the Green New Deal into Democratic politics. Lawrence, now 36, has since deleted hundreds of posts dating back several years.

Other deleted posts reviewed by CNN show Lawrence supporting the abolition of police and prisons, calling for the nationalization of fossil-fuel companies, advocating for open migration, and calling for the abolition of the Senate. He also criticized moderate Democrats, including then-Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who previously represented Michigan’s 7th District.

Lawrence won the Democratic primary for Michigan’s 7th District on Aug. 4 and will face Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in the Nov. 3 general election. The district is considered a competitive House battleground; President Donald Trump carried it by less than two percentage points in 2024.

Lawrence has attempted to distance himself from some of his past positions. He told CNN that he no longer supports defunding the police or open borders and said he disagrees with some of his previous statements. He also said he remains critical of the political establishment and the concentration of wealth and power.

The newly surfaced posts are likely to become an issue in a race where Lawrence is seeking to unseat Barrett. His past rhetoric toward moderate Democrats is particularly notable given the 2021 dispute with Manchin, whose opposition helped prevent or reshape several major pieces of the Biden administration’s legislative agenda.

The revelation adds another layer of scrutiny to Lawrence’s record as voters prepare to decide one of Michigan’s closely watched congressional contests in November.