Rebecca Cooke has won the Democratic primary in Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District, defeating former Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge and earning a second consecutive shot at Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden. The Cook Political Report has moved this race from "lean Republican" to "toss up," a signal that national Democrats see a real path. What complicates the picture: Cooke lost to Van Orden by roughly 11,000 votes in November 2024, carrying 48.6% to his 51.4%, and scrutiny of her personal finances is already shaping up as the central Republican line of attack before the general election begins.
A working-class pitch in a competitive western Wisconsin seat
Cooke, who grew up on a dairy farm near Eau Claire, has built her candidacy around a biography that spans decades outside politics. She has worked as a waitress since her teens. She founded the Red Letter Grant, a nonprofit that supports women entrepreneurs, and previously operated a small retail business. She also served on the board of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation after being appointed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
Her campaign themes center on affordability, health care, and the economic pressures facing rural communities in a district that stretches through Eau Claire, La Crosse, and much of western Wisconsin. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added her to its "Red to Blue" program, which channels party resources toward candidates the party views as viable in competitive seats.
This is Cooke's third run at the seat. She lost the 2022 Democratic primary to then-state Sen. Brad Pfaff, then secured the 2024 nomination and came within about three percentage points of Van Orden before falling short.
The counterargument: finances and the insider label
Republicans have a ready answer to Cooke's working-class framing. Van Orden's campaign has pushed her to release a financial disclosure extended until Aug. 13, two days after Tuesday's primary. Earlier filings showed income from political consulting and rental properties, which his campaign argues undercuts her core biographical argument.
The GOP has also sought to portray Cooke as a Democratic political insider, pointing to her work on Democratic campaigns and her fundraising network. Cooke has responded by presenting her nonprofit leadership, retail business experience, and hospitality work as a record that stands on its own terms.
What's changed since 2024
Van Orden, a retired Navy SEAL first elected in 2022 and now seeking a third term, won the district comfortably in a cycle that was difficult for Democrats nationally. The 3rd District has leaned Republican in recent presidential elections, which gives him a structural floor of support that Cooke has to work around rather than through.
On balance, the Cook Political Report's "toss up" rating reflects what the 2024 margin already suggested: this seat is genuinely in play. The line to watch is the financial disclosure due Aug. 13. If Van Orden's campaign can sustain a narrative around Cooke's political consulting income and rental properties through the fall, it narrows the terrain she needs to win over working-class voters who backed her opponent by roughly three percentage points last November.