Van Orden, Challenger In Virtual Tie on Fundraising
In state's other most competitive House district, Bryan Steil has substantially outraised Democratic challenger Randy Bryce.
Derrick Van Orden and Rebecca Cooke.
Early fundraising numbers in Wisconsin’s competitive 3rd Congressional District show Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden and second-time Democratic challenger Rebecca Cooke are virtually tied.
But in Wisconsin’s other competitive congressional seat, 1st District U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil has raised substantially more than Democratic challenger Randy Bryce.
The latest fundraising reports show Van Orden raised just more than $2 million for his reelection bid as of June 30, and Cooke brought in around $1.95 million. The Republican has spent about $1 million more than her during the period as he defends his seat.
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Political Science Professor Anthony Chergosky told WPR the 3rd District race has gotten off to a “much faster start” than other districts because both Van Orden and Cooke have proven to be excellent fundraisers.
“The numbers from the 3rd District suggest to me that this is going to be one of the most competitive House districts and one of the most expensive House races in the country,” Chergosky said.
Chergosky said the current contest between Van Orden and Cooke has parallels with 2020. That’s when it was Van Orden who narrowly lost to former Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Kind by just under 3 percentage points. Two years later, Chergosky said, Van Orden kept his campaign momentum going and went on to win the seat by around 4 points in 2022.
“Cooke is doing the same,” Chergosky said. “She had a very slim loss in the 2024 race, and just carried that over into 2026. So, you have two candidates who are very well-established by this year.”
Two other candidates — Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge and former Eau Claire City Council member Laura Benjamin — are also running in the 3rd District as Democrats. Berge has raised about $151,000 while Benjamin has raised about $12,000.
Steil holds lopsided fundraising edge in 1st District
In the 1st Congressional District, Steil has raised just under $1 million as of June 30, while Bryce has only raised around $26,000.
Like the 3rd District, the 1st District race is also a rematch. In 2018, Steil defeated Bryce by more than 12 points.
Chergosky said the 1st is competitive on paper, but “Democrats have had enormous challenges in actually launching a competitive challenge to Bryan Steil.” He said Bryce is an example of a candidate who has gone viral but wasn’t able to translate that into success at the ballot box.
Chergosky described Steil as one of the best fundraisers in Congress, which he said is a big reason Democrats haven’t been able to win the seat.
“And I can imagine it’s very frustrating for the party, because when you look at the data alone and you look at the statistics alone, this would seem to be a pickup opportunity for Democrats,” Chergosky said. “But Bryan Steil’s political brand and his enormous fundraising success have made it very challenging for Democrats to turn what is theoretically a competitive seat into the reality of a competitive seat.”
Elections have been close in the 3rd District, not so much in the 1st
In April, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee listed both the 1st and 3rd districts as top targets they’re hoping to flip next year. But Cook Political Report House Editor Erin Covey told WPR Van Orden’s seat should be easier to pick up based on the fundraising prowess of Cooke and Van Orden’s sometimes controversial social media posts.
Also, she said Van Orden is the only Republican congressman from Wisconsin who ran behind Trump in his district in November, which has led his seat to be listed as a “tossup” by Cook.
In each election going back to 2020, the winner in the 3rd District has won in a close race, with the biggest margin four percentage points. During the same span, Steil has won each of his reelection bids by 9 to 19 points.
Covey said Steil “is definitely in a stronger position than Van Orden,” but because midterm elections historically favor the party not in power in the White House, Democrats could have a boost moving into 2026.
“And we also just don’t know who is going to run there on the Democratic side,” Covey said. “So, if Democrats are able to recruit a strong candidate there, that could also, I think, move this district into a more competitive category.”
Early fundraising totals show US Rep. Derrick Van Orden, challenger Rebecca Cooke neck and neck was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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