Republican Derrick Van Orden, who lost to Ron Kind last year in the closest race of the La Crosse Dem’s 24 years in Congress, today announced he is taking another run at western Wisconsin’s 3rd CD.
Van Orden’s announcement comes as national Republicans have listed Kind among their top targets for 2022. But it could be months before the final details on what the district will look like under a new map won’t be known for months.
Former President Trump won Kind’s western Wisconsin seat by 4.7 percentage points in November as the longtime La Crosse Dem beat Van Orden by 2.7 percentage points.
Van Orden charged voters in the 3rd CD had told him they’re not being represented by Kind and “they see the country they love being destroyed by the socialist policies that he has voted for.”
As part of his rollout, Van Orden released a 30-second video showing him riding a motorcycle as the narrator says “Washington, D.C., is a disaster and someone has to fight back” against the decisions from those in the capital to open up borders, send “COVID cash to prisoners” and make Nancy Pelosi speaker.
“I’m running to bring Wisconsin values back to Washington DC, stand up for our Constitution, and truly represent the people of the 3rd District instead of becoming rich in office by protecting personal power as my opponent has done for over two decades,” Van Orden said in a release.
Kind, who first won the seat in 1996, took a swipe at Van Orden for announcing his campaign so early in the cycle.
“Right now, Wisconsinites need us to come together, defeat this virus, and get our economy fully functioning again — that’s exactly what I’m working to do,” Kind said. “The last thing anyone wants or needs is 18 months of lying, partisan politics, and bickering.”
