WATERTOWN, Wis. — In a House race Cook Political Report rates “lean Republican,” Democratic challenger Rebecca Cooke has taken a 2-point lead over retired Navy SEAL and incumbent Rep. Derrick Van Orden in a new poll.
The race between the 36-year-old political strategist and 55-year-old freshman congressman has come into the spotlight recently as a possible pickup for Democrats, who are looking to flip the House this fall.
Moderate Democrat Ron Kind held the 3rd Congressional District on Wisconsin’s western border for 26 years, retiring in 2022, when Van Orden won the the open seat.
The GBAO survey of 400 likely voters from Sept. 8 to 10 puts Cooke at 49% to Van Orden’s 47%. The Democrat-aligned House Majority PAC, which sponsored the poll, has placed a $4 million ad buy in the district. Cooke’s lead is within the poll’s margin of error, +/- 4.9%.
Since Harris ascended to the top of the ticket this summer, Democrats have been more optimistic about flipping the downballot seats needed to gain the majority in the House.
Cooke, who was a fundraising powerhouse in her unusually combative primary, beat state legislator Katrina Shankland.
Cooke’s defeat of the well-connected Democrat signals the seriousness with which House Democrats are pursuing this seat, as outside PACs poured money into the primary.
The nonprofit owner and waitress, who is endorsed by the Blue Dog PAC, leans on her time on her family’s dairy farm and working-class credentials as she campaigns in a district that’s become more of a battleground in recent years.
Van Orden, noted for his hot temper and more moderate congressional voting, has been very vocal about his opposition to illegal immigration, with a suspected Venezuelan gang member recently accused of brutalizing a woman and her daughter in the congressman’s hometown.
The outspoken and controversial veteran and Cooke have both said they’re open to a debate, although there’s no word yet of a third party hosting one.