Incumbent Derrick Van Orden*, elected to Wisconsin’s Congressional District 3 after the retirement of U.S. Ron Kind, is facing challenger Rebecca Cooke, a Wisconsin businesswoman and entrepreneur.

Rebecca Cooke (D)

Age: 36

Prior elected office(s): N/A

Occupation/experience: I was born and raised on a Wisconsin dairy farm, where I learned to work hard and help my neighbors. It was this community that empowered me to start my own small business selling American-made goods, and then a nonprofit organization helping 50+ Wisconsinites start their own small businesses and create good jobs in our communities. Now, I waitress at night while running for Congress by day.

What civic/community organizations do you belong to? Gov. Tony Evers appointed me to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, where I proudly served as co-chair of the newly established Entrepreneurship & Innovation Committee. Additionally, I have been an active board member for community organizations like Downtown Eau Claire, Inc., both of which play a vital role in strengthening our state and local economies.

Tell us about your family: The Cooke family settled in the Independence area of newly-formed Buffalo County in 1856 and began generations of working Wisconsin land and serving their community and country. Early patriarch Chauncey Cooke was an abolitionist who joined the Union Army at 16 years old and fought in the Civil War. Those values of service run strong through my family as my ancestors served America in both World Wars. My grandfather was a Marine in Korea before coming home to work a union job in Eau Claire’s paper mill, and my father served as a medic at Walter Reed Hospital, caring for wounded soldiers returning from Vietnam. My brother continued that tradition, serving in the Navy before returning home to farm in Eau Claire and ultimately joining the Madison Fire Department.

Why are you running for office? What has prepared you to represent the people of Wisconsin's Third Congressional District? Growing up, it was a struggle to make ends meet like it is for so many Wisconsin farm families, but we always showed up for neighbors in need. Those core values of serving others and building community have guided my life, from my family’s kitchen table to the boardroom. Our rural communities are tired of Washington turning its back on us, and I’m ready to get to work because we need a Representative with the lived experience and drive to deliver results for our region. I’m running for Congress to stand up for our communities and get things done for working people.

What issues do you believe are the most pressing in our district and how would you address them? My top priorities include healing our healthcare system, strengthening the working class, and fighting for Wisconsin’s farms. West Central Wisconsinites are concerned about access to affordable, quality healthcare. My parents get their dental work done on their once-a-year trip to Mexico because it’s cheaper to do there than in our own country. Protecting and strengthening Medicare is one of my top priorities, and I want to expand Medicare to cover vision, dental and hearing - the very things that deteriorate as people age. We need to ensure our seniors can get the drugs they need at prices negotiated through Medicare and that drug companies can’t inflate their prices based on brand or speciality of the drug. I also want to improve the Affordable Care Act and healthcare exchange as it exists by providing more tax credits to lower premiums, creating more options on the exchange and simplifying the process to make obtaining health insurance less confusing.

People’s pocketbooks are hurting – prices have been rising at the gas pump and the grocery store. It can be tough to make your mortgage or rent payment and have enough money left over for the essentials. I intend to ease those burdens by taking on corporations that are price gouging consumers at the gas pump, and at the grocery store.

I’ll also support the expansion of federal community block grants that offer dollars for affordable housing projects, particularly in rural communities in west central Wisconsin where current housing is aging out or doesn’t accommodate growing populations.

My family has had a farm in this district for 150 years. When we had to sell our cows because of the price of milk and competition with larger dairies, it wasn’t just losing a job or a business, but a part of our identity and way of life. My goal is to protect our livelihood and the heritage of agriculture in this District by addressing breakdowns within our supply chain – from the farmer to processors to the retailer. I’ll also work to ensure tax incentives and subsidies are created for small to midsize farms, not just for bigger ag. We must also enforce antitrust laws that are impacting the ability for farmers to compete with growing conglomerates. These corporate conglomerates are robbing us of our farming traditions and driving the price for consumers while the producers see little profit. Corporate greed 101.

Many voters believe members of both parties are guilty of sticking strictly to their party lines. How will you work with members of the opposite party to get things done in Washington? Governing in the 21st century is no easy task and the intense partisanship and rhetoric that has gripped our legislative process for years has not made that process any easier. When I’m elected as the next Congresswoman of the 3rd Congressional District of Wisconsin, my guiding principle to representing the residents of western Wisconsin is cut through that partisanship and advocate for the issues that so many of our friends and neighbors are facing on a daily basis: the economics of dairy farming in this day and age, the right to repair for those who own heavy equipment and other agricultural implements, ensuring that economic development is focused across rural regions, not just in major U.S. cities. I’ll focus on results because I don’t care who gets the credit, as long as things get done.

What would you do to address immigration if elected? What are the issues? How do you solve them? I’ll always put our communities' safety first and work to ensure we can fix our broken immigration system and secure the border. Having more Border Patrol agents is something that is important, as well as making sure law-abiding immigrants who were brought to this country as children can stay. Wisconsinites deserve a Representative who cares more about their security than they care about pleasing their party leadership or self-preservation, which is why I’ll work to support bipartisan immigration reforms that actually have a shot at getting passed into law and securing the border.

What policies would you propose to make life more affordable for Wisconsin residents? People’s pocketbooks are hurting – prices have been rising at the gas pump and the grocery store. It can be tough to make your mortgage or rent payment and have enough money left over for the essentials. I intend to ease those burdens by taking on corporations that are price gouging consumers at the gas pump, and at the grocery store. I’ll also support the expansion of federal community block grants that offer dollars for affordable housing projects, particularly in rural communities in west central Wisconsin where current housing is aging out or doesn’t accommodate growing populations. Additionally, I’ll support tax credits to organizations willing to build low-income and mixed-income housing projects throughout the region to address our lack of affordable housing. I’ll also help families buy their first home by deferring property tax payments for first-time home buyers for up to five years. Lastly, I’ll support child care incubators that provide training and dollars to incentivize start-up in our small towns and rural communities.

Why should people vote for you? I grew up on a dairy farm showing cattle, and like a lot of Wisconsin families, we had to sell our cows when times got tough. I also know what it’s like to start a small business, stress about keeping the lights on and making payroll, and navigating supply chain issues – I know firsthand the unique challenges facing our families and communities. From our dairy farmers to our small business owners to factory workers, Wisconsinites deserve better than more career politicians who fail to deliver for us. I love this community that raised me and am running for Congress to better serve our communities, provide more opportunities for success, and be a relentless fighter for our way of life.

Derrick Van Orden* (R)

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, age 55, did not answer the Journal’s questionnaire.

According to his website, Van Orden is a retired Navy Seal Senior Chief who served in the military for 26 years, author and actor. He and his wife owned a café in Butternut before he decided to attend law school and run for Congress. He lost his first bid to then-incumbent Ron Kind, but was successful against Brad Pfaff in 2022.