Democrat Rebecca Cooke launches bid to unseat Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin battleground seat
The Eau Claire Democrat will launch another campaign to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden in the state's 3rd Congressional District after losing her previous bid by just under three points this past November. It will be her third consecutive run for the western Wisconsin House seat.
'I think there needs to be a check on this administration's worst instincts, and Derrick Van Orden is somebody that is like a talking head for those folks,' Cooke told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this week. 'I think that we need to hold people accountable and really put their feet to the fire.'
She plans to formally announce her campaign at a farm in Chippewa Falls on Tuesday morning.
The move officially kicks off the 2026 race for Wisconsin's tightest battleground district. Cooke, who fell to Van Orden by about 2.8 points last cycle but ran ahead of the top of her ticket in the process, is the only Democrat to announce a run so far. She first ran for the seat in 2022 but placed second in the Democratic primary that year.
Cooke, 37, told the Journal Sentinel this week that she believes key issues like health care costs and women's reproductive rights 'only are going to get exemplified' under the first two years of the Trump administration. She pointed to recent cuts to agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development and the new administration's tariffs on top trading partners as developments that will significantly impact Wisconsin farmers and businesses.
More: Tony Evers slams congressional Republicans for not pushing back on Trump tariffs
Last year, Cooke campaigned as a moderate Democrat seeking to take on 'Big Ag' and make health care more accessible. Those issues are still prominent, she said.
'I think there's just a finer point to that, and I know they're not going to get better,' she said of her top campaign issues. 'In fact, they will probably get worse.'
Another factor motivating Cooke is her performance this past November.
She gained about 9,000 more raw votes in the district than former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the 3rd District to President Donald Trump by 7.4 points, and about 5,000 more votes than Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who lost the region to Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde by about 4 points, though won statewide.
Van Orden and Republicans, for their part, have noted Van Orden defeated Cooke in 2024 by a nearly identical margin to his victory over Democratic state Sen. Brad Pfaff in 2022 — about 11,000 votes — despite a higher turnout last year.
A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee this week called Cooke 'a deeply radical and sleazy political activist who remains out-of-touch with Western Wisconsin.'
'Wisconsinites rejected proven loser Rebecca Cooke last year and will do the same in 2026,' said Zach Bannon, the NRCC spokesman.
Still, some Democrats have pointed to Cooke's November performance as evidence the district is in play for the party in 2026. Top national Democratic groups like House Majority PAC have signaled they'll continue to focus on the 3rd Congressional District after spending millions more than their Republican counterparts there in 2024.
The looming question now is whether other Democrats plan to jump into the race.
Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge told the Journal Sentinel this week she is seriously considering a run, but no other Wisconsin Democrat has publicly expressed interest in running for the seat.
A source close to Pfaff, who defeated Cooke in the 2022 Democratic primary, told the Journal Sentinel that the Onalaska Democrat initially ruled out another run for the district but has since received encouragement to mount a new campaign from others in the party.
Stevens Point state Rep. Katrina Shankland, who lost to Cooke in last year's heated Democratic primary, said she will not run again this cycle.
Regardless, Cooke is seen as a front-runner in the race.
'When someone comes off of a strong race and is able to raise a lot of money and get a lot of endorsements, they clearly are in the lead position to run,' said Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, one of Van Orden's loudest detractors who initially supported Shankland last cycle.
'I understand people want to have their strongest candidate forward,' Pocan said. 'I think Becca proved to be a strong candidate.'
Cooke raised more than $6.3 million last cycle to Van Orden's $7.6 million, according to Federal Election Commission reports, and she gained the support of members of Congress like the congressional moderate Blue Dog Coalition. A number of top Democrats in both Wisconsin and Washington, including those in leadership positions, encouraged her to consider another run following her loss.
This week, Cooke said Democratic unity will be 'critically important' in 2026, noting she spent millions in last year's bitter Democratic primary that saw Cooke and Shankland trade public jabs.
She slammed Van Orden for not scheduling in-person town halls to hear from constituents and said getting into the race early 'allows us to check him and to check this administration.'
'It takes time to build a movement,' Cooke said. 'And it's something that we've been doing for some time.'
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Democrat Rebecca Cooke launches bid to unseat Derrick Van Orden
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