Rep. Derrick Van Orden wins re-election in contested Wisconsin 3rd Congressional District
Freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden on Tuesday edged Eau Claire Democrat Rebecca Cooke to win reelection in a battleground western House seat that Democrats had made a top target.
Van Orden led Cooke by just under three points with about 99% of the vote counted early Wednesday in what was Wisconsin's tightest and most closely watched congressional race. Democrats had zeroed in on the state's swing 3rd Congressional District as one to flip as they sought to take control of the House this week.
CNN called the race for Van Orden Wednesday morning.
"I am ready to roll up my sleeves and continue our work to ensure we are putting an end to the southern border crisis so the scourge of the fentanyl crisis no longer affects our communities or criminals aren't allowed to wreak havoc on our families.," Van Orden said Tuesday night, also mentioning the cost of living. "Together, we will work to make western Wisconsin a better place for our children and grandchildren."
Van Orden, a former Navy SEAL, overcame millions of dollars in outside spending from national Democrats to maintain the purple district after he flipped it red for the first time in 26 years during his election in 2022. In that race, Van Orden won by about four points, and state Democrats accused their national party of abandoning their candidate .
Democrats were keen to avoid the same mistake this year, and the party's outside groups about doubled Republicans in advertising spending, according to figures reviewed by the Journal Sentinel. Cooke was able to rake in millions in fundraising.
But Van Orden maintained his edge in the district that has trended redder in recent years. Former President Barack Obama won the district in 2012, but former President Donald Trump won it in both 2016 and 2020. The presidential result in the district this year was not immediately clear Tuesday night.
The seat runs from Portage County, out west to Pierce County and down along the border with Minnesota to Grant County.
Van Orden had framed the race as about three things — gas, groceries and grandchildren — as he railed against the Biden administration over top issues for Republicans like the economy and illegal immigration.
He attempted to tie Cooke to Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and painted Cooke as a political insider over her past work as a professional fundraiser for Democrats across the country.
Cooke, a nonprofit owner who grew up on a farm in Eau Claire, meanwhile, presented herself as a moderate Democrat seeking to take on "Big Ag" and make health care more accessible. She was endorsed by the congressional moderate Blue Dog Coalition and, in one ad, pledged to "stand up to Democrats to fight for a secure border."
She previously ran for the seat in 2022 but placed second in the Democratic primary that year to Onalaska state Sen. Brad Pfaff.
Cooke throughout her campaign labeled Van Orden an "extremist" as she referenced his presence at Trump's Stop the Steal rally before the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and his outbursts on Capitol Hill, including when he yelled at a group of teenage Senate pages.
Van Orden, for his part, pushed back on questions about his temperament. In an interview with the Journal Sentinel last week, he acknowledged what he called his "brusk form of communication" but suggested it was necessary to get things done on Capitol Hill. "Try to go out to D.C. and be a pushover," he said.
"I speak the truth as I know it, and I say what I want to say when I want to say it regardless of the political fallout," Van Orden told the Journal Sentinel. "Because that's how you start going bad — you start couching everything you're saying. 'If I say this, I may upset somebody' or 'this may be a better answer politically than it is truthfully,' and I'm just not doing that."
When asked about the incident with the Senate pages, he said voters were more concerned about issues like the economy and the high cost of living.
Democrats this year made a big play for the district. Democratic groups spent about $12.3 million across broadcast, cable and radio advertising around the district compared to about $7.3 million from Republicans, ad data shows.
Among the bigger spenders in the race was House Majority PAC, Democrats' largest outside group for congressional campaigns, which put $5.1 million into the race. Congressional Leadership Fund, a PAC aligned with the House GOP leadership, spent $2.4 million to help Van Orden.
Still, Van Orden maintained the overall fundraising edge as of mid-October, despite a massive fundraising haul from Cooke. Van Orden raised $6.6 million this cycle compared to $5.3 million from Cooke, according to Federal Election Commission reports from Oct. 16.
