Rebecca Cooke has another chance at unseating Rep. Derrick Van Orden
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - Rebecca Cooke has secured the democratic nomination in the race for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District.
Cooke also spoke with reporters the morning of election day. You can watch the full interview below.
Cooke will once again face Republican Congressman Derrick Van Orden in the general election on Tuesday, November 3. Cooke and Van Orden went head-to-head in November of 2024. Van Orden won re-election by less than 3% of the vote.
Rep. Van Orden reacted to Cooke’s primary win.
“Rebecca Cook and Francesca Hong are the same person. They are. They have the same radical left-wing policies. So, they want to defund the police. They want to get rid of ICE. They want open borders. They want free healthcare for illegal aliens. They want to confiscate your ARs, which is the most popular weapon in the United States of America. So, they have the same radical left-wing Democrat socialist agenda. And, you know, it would be a shame if Rebecca Cook won because of that,” said Van Orden.
Stakes of the race
The 3rd Congressional District race is considered a toss-up by the Cook Political Report. Rep. Van Orden’s seat is vulnerable and could determine control of the U.S. House.
Van Orden has received President Donald Trump’s endorsement, and the administration has heavily supported his re-election bid. President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and FBI Director Kash Patel have all made stops in the district.
Just ahead of the primary election, on August 4th, Cooke called out Van Orden for not talking to constituents directly and instead campaigning alongside Trump administration officials.
“He’s failed to host any sort of in-person town hall to be accountable for his votes and brings a different Trump administration official to his district every other week because he can’t win on his own. And the issue with that is that no one likes what this administration has done, driving up health care costs, implementing harmful tariffs that have hurt our farmers, allowing big tech companies to call the shots, mining our data, and poisoning our water,” Cooke said.
Meanwhile, Van Orden said the string of high-profile visits proves the Trump Administration cares about rural America.
Control over the U.S. House is not the only reason Democrats are targeting Van Orden’s seat. The party is also challenging President Donald Trump’s agenda. Cooke spoke on this, ahead of President Trump’s visit to Custer Farms in Chippewa County on June 5th.
“I think that people voted for Trump for this America First agenda and thought that he was going to put the interests of working farm families first, and it’s been exactly the opposite. This really flies in the face of what people were promised out on the campaign trail from both of these candidates (Trump and Van Orden) and what they got in return,” Cooke said.
The 3rd Congressional District has also seen more spending than any other U.S. House race in the state.
Cooke has had no trouble raising money over the past year. Her campaign has reported bringing in more than $8.6 million, outraising Van Orden’s campaign by more than $1 million.