Brenda Lawrence

In May 2013, Peters announced that he would not be running for reelection in 2014. He instead ran for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democrat Carl Levin. On January 23, 2014, Lawrence announced that would run for the 14th district for the second time.

Lawrence won the Democratic Party nomination on August 5, 2014, with 36% of the vote to Hobbs's 32%, Clarke's 31% and Foster's 1%. She took the most votes in Oakland County, carrying Southfield, Pontiac and Oak Park, as well as Royal Oak Township. Although it was expected that Clarke would convincingly win the portion of Detroit within the district, where he lives and had previously held public office, Lawrence was competitive in the city and won more votes than all other candidates from voters who cast their ballot on Election Day in Detroit.

In late 2011, Lawrence announced she would be running in the newly redrawn 14th congressional district. The district had previously been the 13th, represented by freshman Democrat Hansen Clarke. It was redrawn to take in a large slice of Oakland County, including Southfield. Clarke's home in Detroit was drawn into the neighboring 13th District, but he opted to follow most of his constituents into the 14th.

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero named Lawrence as his running mate in his bid for governor of Michigan. She was formally nominated as the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor at the Michigan Democratic Party convention in August 2010. They campaigned around the state promoting a "Main Street Agenda" with emphasis on their shared backgrounds as mayors.

As with the national election results, the 2010 general election in Michigan saw strong turnout and enthusiasm by Republican voters. Political pundits attributed the losses by Democrats, in part, to voter reaction to President Obama and term-limited Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm. The Democratic gubernatorial ticket lost to Republican nominees Rick Snyder, a businessman, and Brian Calley, a State Representative, 58%-40%. No statewide Democratic candidates were successful in 2010.

She successfully sought a third term as mayor in 2009, defeating former Councilwoman Sylvia Jordan with nearly 80 percent of the vote. She was reelected to a fourth term unopposed in 2013.

In May 2008, Lawrence announced her candidacy for Oakland County Executive. She was unopposed for the Democratic nomination to unseat the longtime Republican incumbent, L. Brooks Patterson. Patterson won reelection 58%-42%. Lawrence's challenge to the polarizing Patterson was identified as the strongest challenge he faced in his six elections for County Executive.

Lawrence has been married to McArthur Lawrence for over 42 years. They were high school sweethearts, having met outside the Midway Market corner store where he worked on Detroit's east side. They bought their first home on Detroit's northwest side. They have two children and a granddaughter. Professionally, Lawrence worked for the federal government for 30 years in the United States Postal Service. She started as a letter carrier and later worked in human resources management; she retired in 2008. Her husband is a United Auto Workers retiree from Ford Motor Company.

Lawrence served as a Michigan delegate to the 2004 Democratic National Convention. As a superdelegate at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, she endorsed U.S. Senator Barack Obama for president in June 2008.

In 2001, Lawrence defeated longtime incumbent Donald Fracassi for the mayor's office, becoming the city's first African-American and first female mayor. She was reelected in 2005 without opposition. As mayor, she was invited by the U.S. House Oversight Committee in 2008 to represent United States mayors in testimony about the mortgage crisis and its effect on American communities. She returned to Washington later that year to lobby Congress for a bridge loan for the American auto industry.

Lawrence got more deeply involved in local affairs. In 1997, she was elected to serve on Southfield's City Council, and in 1999 she was elected council president.

Lawrence had a 30-year career with the United States Postal Service, advancing to work in human resources. In the early 1990s, as an active member of the Parent-Teacher Association at her children's school, she sought and earned a seat on the Southfield Public Schools Board of Education. She served as president, vice president, and secretary of the board.

Brenda Lulenar Lawrence (born October 18, 1954) is an American Democratic politician and member of the United States House of Representatives who previously served as the Mayor of Southfield, Michigan, from 2001 to 2015. The Democratic nominee for Oakland County Executive in 2008 and for lieutenant governor in 2010, she was elected U.S. Representative for Michigan's 14th congressional district in 2014. The district covers most of eastern Detroit, including downtown, and stretches west to take in portions of Oakland County, including Lawrence's home in Southfield.