Many people have given Cooke, of Eau Claire, the max, including a well-known former Green Bay Packer and some other interesting names.

By Peter Cameron and Gus Pirlot, THE BADGER PROJECT

Democrat Rebecca Cooke came close in her attempt to unseat the incumbent Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Prairie du Chien) in 2024, losing by less than three points. She will be well-funded in her attempt this year.

Van Orden raised more than $4.3 million in 2025 for the 2026 election, according to mandatory filings with the Federal Elections Commission. But most of that cash has come from joint fundraising committees like Grow the Majority and Defend the Majority, national organizations that can accept hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors and give hundreds of thousands to candidates.

By contrast, individual donors can only give a maximum of $3,500 to a candidate per federal election in the 2026 cycle. With a primary and a general election, that means one person can donate a maximum of $7,000 to a candidate for federal office. That is where Cooke, Van Orden’s best-funded challenger, is getting most of her campaign funds so far. Cooke reported raising slightly less than Van Orden in 2025, at just over $4 million.

The campaign for the 3rd Congressional District in western Wisconsin is projected to be one of the more expensive in the country as Democrats try to flip this Republican-held House seat in their quest to retake the majority. Expect independent political groups like Super PACs to spend heavily in this race as the November election gets closer.

DONORS WHO HAVE GIVEN COOKE THE MAXIMUM $7,000

NAME	CITY & STATE	NOTES
BEKENSTEIN, JOSH	BOSTON, MA	Co-chairman of Bain Capital, a private investment firm
BEKENSTEIN, ANITA	BOSTON, MA	Wife of Josh Bekenstein
BENDICH, JUDITH	SEATTLE, WA	Attorney and on the ACLU’s board of directors
BERNSTEIN, JOHN	GUILFORD, VT	Heir to Daniel J. Bernstein, businessman
BILLS, MICHAEL	CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA	Attorney and legal consultant for TV
BURNSTEIN, CLIFF	NEW YORK, NY	Co-founder of Q Prime, a music management company
COHEN, JANET	NEW YORK, NY	Artist and wife of William Cohen, Secretary of Defense under Clinton
CORMICLE, BRUCE	LOS ANGELES, CA	Attorney and legal consultant for TV
DEGEL, JAMES	VASHON, WA	Owner of Law Offices of James Degel, Inc., P.S.
DEVERAUX, MARJORIE	MADISON, WI	Fine artist
DOW, ABIGAIL	NEW YORK, NY	Heir to Charles Schusterman, founder of the Samson Investment Company, a privately owned oil and gas company, and to Lynn Schusterman, a Rothschild heir
DOW, RACHEL	NEW YORK, NY	Heir to Charles Schusterman, founder of the Samson Investment Company, a privately owned oil and gas company, and to Lynn Schusterman, a Rothschild heir
EISENSON, BARBARA	BOSTON, MA	Wife of Michael Eisenson
EISENSON, MICHAEL	BOSTON, MA	Managing director and co-chairman of Charlesbank Capital Partners LLC
FISHMAN, EDWARD	WASSAIC, NY	Managing director of D.E. Shaw & Co., LP, a multinational investment management firm
FOUST, JEANNE	EAU CLAIRE, WI	Retired Global Manager Standards & Operability at Esri, a software development company.
FREDELL, JOHN E.	MINNEAPOLIS, MN	Retired doctor
GABRIELI, CHRIS	BOSTON, MA	Chairman of the Board of the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education and part-time Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education
GALKOWSKI, DAVID	BROOKLYN, NY	CEO of Sebana, a renewable energy company
GURAL, JEFFREY	NEW YORK, NY	Chairman of GFP Real Estate, a property investment company
HALMSTAD, ‘ZACH’ RICHARD	EAU CLAIRE, WI	Founder and former CEO of JAMF Software, a software developer
HARRIS, WILLIAM SR	LEXINGTON, MA	Orthopaedic surgeon, founder and Director Emeritus of the Massachusetts General Hospital Harris Orthopaedics Laboratory
HASELOW, JUSTINE P	EDINA, MN	Wife of Robert Haselow
HASELOW, ROBERT E	EDINA, MN	Radiologist
HELM, NELSON	LOUISVILLE, KY	Retired
JANOWITZ, JESSIE	WASSAIC, NY	Children’s author
KATZ, JANE	MISSOULA, MT	Retired
KATZ, MARC	MISSOULA, MT	Retired
KERN, DEBORAH	FOX POINT, WI	Former owner of Mod Gen, a home and garden goods store
KING, MICHAEL PATRICK	LOS ANGELES, CA	Director and writer on Sex and the City
LAWSON, ELISE	MADISON, WI	Surgeon
LEDLEY, CHARLES	BOSTON, MA	Early member of Cornwall Capital, an investment firm that shorted the subprime mortgage crisis market
LIPSETT, JAKE	ROUND POND, ME	Partner of Mothership Strategies, a political fundraising firm
LUBAR, DAVID	MILWAUKEE, WI	President and CEO of Lubar & Co., son of Sheldon and Marianne
LUBAR, MADELEINE	MILWAUKEE, WI	Nonprofit leader, wife of David Lubar
LUBAR, MARIANNE	RIVER HILLS, WI	wife of Sheldon Lubar
LUBAR, SHELDON	RIVER HILLS, WI	Founder and Chairman of Lubar & Co., a private investment firm
LUBAR, SUSAN	MEQUON, WI	Nonprofit leader, daughter of Sheldon and Marianne
MCNALLY, STEPHEN	AUSTIN, TX	Lawyer
MENSCH, PETER	NEW YORK, NY	Co-founder of Q Prime, a music management company
MILBURN, ROB M	CHICAGO, IL	Sound designer
MILLIKEN, NANCY	SAN FRANCISCO, CA	Retired physician
MINSKY, YARON	NEW YORK, NY	Co-head of technology at Jane Street Capital, a quantitative investment firm
MURPHY, LAURIE	DE PERE, WI	Wife of Mark Murphy and owner of Lauren Leroy Homes LLC, a real estate company
MURPHY, MARK	DE PERE, WI	Retired president and CEO of the Green Bay Packers
NIERENBERG, DAVID	CAMAS, WA	Founder and President of Nierenberg Investment Management Company
NIERENBERG, PATRICIA	CAMAS, WA	Wife of David Nierenberg
O’CONNOR, MIKE	ALMA, WI	Retired entrepreneur
PRIMUS, LISA	NEW YORK, NY	Physician
ROGERS, JOEL	MADISON, WI	Professor of sociology at UW-Madison
RUEDEBUSCH, CARL	MADISON, WI	President and CEO of Ruedebusch Development & Construction
SALTMAN, JOSHUA	LOS ANGELES, CA	Chief Counsel, Disney Platform Distribution at The Walt Disney Company
SAWTELLE, SCOTT	SAN ANTONIO, TX	Wealth Advisor for Avior Wealth Management, a national wealth management firm
SCHMIDT, WENDY	PALO ALTO, CA	Wife of Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google
SCHROEDER, STEVEN	GLENCOE, IL	Founder and CEO of Creative Werks, a packaging company
SCHUSTERMAN, LYNN	TULSA, OK	Heiress to the Rothschild family fortune, also wife of Charles Schusterman, founder of the Samson Investment Company
SCHUSTERMAN, STACY	TULSA, OK	Daughter of Lynn Schusterman
SLIFKA, RICHARD	BOSTON, MA	Now deceased, former chair of Global Partners, an energy supply company
SPENCER, THEODORE	NEW YORK, NY	Environmental policy consultant
SPOONER, SARA	NEW YORK, NY	Wife of Edward Stroz
STROZ, EDWARD	NEW YORK, NY	Former FBI special agent, now cybersecurity consultant
STULTZ, JOANNE	NORTHAMPTON, MA	Retired
STULTZ, RICHARD	NORTHAMPTON, MA	Retired
STUTZMAN, MARK	PARK CITY, UT	Former Executive Director and CEO of Terra Millennium Corporation, a construction company.
STUTZMAN, SUSAN	OAKLAND, CA	Wife of Mark Stutzman
TIMKEN, HEIDI	WALNUT CREEK, CA	Founding partner of Timken Johnson LLP, a real estate law firm.
TIMKEN, JUDITH	LAFAYETTE, CA	Retired
UIHLEIN, LYNDE B	MILWAUKEE, WI	Heiress to the Schlitz brewing fortune
WADSWORTH, JACK	SAN FRANCISCO, CA	Advisory Director of Morgan Stanley
WALKER, TOM	BLACK RIVER FALLS, WI	Retired doctor
WEIL, SAGE	MADISON, WI	Computer scientist, CEO of Civic Media, Inc., a media company
WIENER, JON	LOS ANGELES, CA	Professor of History at University of California, Irvine
WINKEL, ADAM	NEW YORK, NY	Technology manager at Jane Street Capital, a quantitative investment firm
WOOD, JORDAN	ROUND POND, ME	Democratic candidate for U.S. House, Maine’s 2nd district
WUDI, JASON	EAU CLAIRE, WI	Co-head of technology at Jane Street Capital, a quantitative investment firm

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