$12 million & counting: The costliest race in western Wisconsin history

GOP incumbent Derrick Van Orden and Democratic challenger Rebecca Cooke have raised a record $12 million as they run neck and neck in the race for the 3rd House District.

By Maggie Zale, THE BADGER PROJECT

With nearly $12 million combined, Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden and Democratic opponent Rebecca Cooke have raised not only the most of any U.S. House race in Wisconsin this election cycle, but also the most in the history of the 3rd Congressional District, according to an analysis by The Badger Project.

The highly contested 3rd in western Wisconsin includes La Crosse, Eau Claire, Stevens Point and Platteville.

The Republican incumbent has reported raising more than $6.6 million through Oct. 16, according to his final campaign report to the Federal Election Commission before the election. Cooke reported raising $5.3 million in the same time frame. That sets a record for the most expensive race in the district’s history, breaking the previous record set in 2022.

Van Orden has about $1 million on hand for the final three weeks of the election, while Cooke has about $360,000 remaining, according to their reports. Candidates can continue fundraising through the election.

Van Orden has received $6,600, the maximum legal donation from an individual, from several people, including billionaire right-wing megadonor Richard Uihlein, the co-founder of the shipping supplies company ULINE.

He has also received $10,000, the maximum allowable donation from a political action committee, from the PACs of several big agricultural businesses, including CHS and the American Crystal Sugar Company.

Cooke has received the maximum $6,600 donation from Laurie Murphy of De Pere, William Cary of Richland Center, Hillary Gabrieli of Boston, Agnes Gund of New York City, Kent Bennett of Newton Highlands, Massachusetts and Anna Sinaiko of Newton, Massachusetts.

Van Orden is a former Navy SEAL who was narrowly defeated for the seat in 2020 before winning in 2022.

From Eau Claire, Cooke describes herself as “a small business owner, non-profit leader and waitress.”

She also ran for the seat in 2022, earning more than 31% of the vote in a crowded Democratic primary, but lost to state Sen. Brad Pfaff, who won with nearly 39% of the vote.

Van Orden then defeated Pfaff in the general election by 2.7 points — 51.8% to 48.1% — in a race that surprised many for its closeness.

Van Orden ran behind Donald Trump, who won the 3rd Congressional District by 4.7 points in 2020 while losing Wisconsin.

In Van Orden’s 2022 race, the two candidates raised more than $8 million, which set the record at the time for the most expensive race in the 3rd Congressional District.

Most of that $8 million went to Van Orden, as national Democrats paid little attention to a race they thought was not competitive. Pfaff raised less than $2 million.

This time, with help from outside the state, the Democratic candidate has been well-funded, as Cooke has raised nearly as much as the Republican incumbent.

The race has attracted attention nationally as Democrats see the seat as one they can flip to help retake the majority. Republicans are spending heavily to defend it.

At times, the Republican incumbent has not helped his cause in this swingy district. Earlier this year, Van Orden compared the judge presiding over Trump’s hush-money fraud trial to an obscure Nazi judge, called him “Communist Scum,” posted a U.S. flag adorned with the Soviet hammer and sickle, and equated President Joe Biden to murderous dictators including Adolf Hitler.

He was fined for bringing a handgun in his carry-on luggage when trying to board a plane at the Cedar Rapids airport, which he said was a mistake. The congressman has also reportedly had verbal outbursts against a teen library worker in Prairie du Chien over a gay pride display and against teen pages at the U.S. Capitol who were lying on the floor taking photos of the dome.

And Van Orden attended Trump’s election rally on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C., which led to an attack on the U.S. Capitol. Van Orden said he left when protesters started fighting with police at the Capitol before breaking inside.

Cooke has branded herself a “political outsider,” but she has worked as a fundraiser for several Democratic races in the past, and ran a political consulting firm, which took in nearly $200,000 for its work with several political committees and campaigns.

Polling in the district has been sporadic and partisan, but polls have shown leads for both candidates. The Cook Political Report rates the race “Lean Republican,” meaning it is considered competitive, though the GOP has an advantage.

The Badger Project is an independent news nonprofit in Wisconsin.