Will Stancil

William Stancil (born July 16, 1985) is an American lawyer, activist, and researcher on housing policy. A Democrat and a liberal, Stancil is known for his presence on Twitter and Bluesky, where he has defended the economic policy of the Biden administration, criticized Operation Metro Surge, and been frequently harassed by right wing accounts.

In 2024, Stancil ran to represent District 61A in the Minnesota House of Representatives. During the race, far-right accounts claiming to be Stancil supporters harassed his opponents, who obliquely criticized his use of social media. Stancil was defeated in the district's Democratic primary, earning 36.43% of votes cast.

Early life and education Stancil was born on July 16, 1985, to a local lawyer and an English teacher in Belmont, North Carolina. He received a bachelor's degree in history from Wake Forest University in 2007 and a master's degree in Reconstruction-era Black history from Queen's University Belfast in 2008. Stancil moved to Minnesota in 2009

Social media Stancil has been described as one of the "most well-known online pugilists in American politics" by the editor-in-chief of the Minnesota Reformer and the Minneapolis–Saint Paul region's "most prolific public intellectual on social media" by Mpls St.Paul Magazine.

Stancil joined Twitter in 2009, around the time he moved to Minnesota. He stated that he was not particularly active on Twitter until the first presidency of Donald Trump. Stancil's Twitter account saw a boost in popularity starting in May 2023, when he began posting in favor of the idea of the economic policy of the Biden administration causing economic growth instead of a recession. This saw positive reception among centrists and negative reception among leftists, the latter group believing that Stancil was a shill for the Democratic Party. During his run for Minnesota House of Representatives, far-right accounts further escalated the harassment to his opponents, claiming they were supporters of Stancil. Such users also prompted Grok to tweet graphic fantasies of raping Stancil. In October 2025, an account began posting The Will Stancil Show on X, an AI-assisted satirical cartoon of Stancil. The right-wing author Charles Cornish-Dale, writing for The Spectator, described the series as "better than anything Comedy Central or Adult Swim has produced in the last 20 years." By contrast, The Atlantic described it as the "racist, AI-generated future of entertainment."

Far-right accounts claiming to be Stancil supporters harassed his opponents, resulting in his opponents increasing security at public events and limiting their use of Twitter.

Stancil's endorsements included Carpenters Local 322 and Lisa Goodman, a former Minneapolis City Councilwoman. His social media presence allowed him to receive $92,000 in campaign funding by August 2024. An independent expenditure committee called United 61A Neighbors, with initial funding of $3,000 from Unidos We Win PAC, was formed with the apparent purpose of causing Stancil to lose the primary.

Political positions

Stancil's politics are considered center-left or liberal and he has received substantial criticism of his positions from both the left and right. Stancil has been described as being a "die-hard liberal Democrat" since 2003. describing it in an interview as "radicalizing" him.

Stancil believes that voters' perception of the world colored through social media is significantly more important than their material wellbeing, and that psychology was the primary reason Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election and Trumpism is successful.

During Operation Metro Surge, Stancil repeatedly tailed United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and expressed support for the abolition of ICE. Stancil later claimed that his willingness to take reporters on ridealongs resulted in his removal from Signal chat networks in his neighborhood that coordinate direct opposition to ICE agents.

Electoral history