Dem Rebecca Cooke defeated U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, in a rematch for western Wisconsin’s 3rd CD.
The state Dem Party declared Cooke has beaten Van Orden, with 52.2% of the vote to his 46%, with 90% of the votes counted.
The race is the most expensive congressional contest in Wisconsin history. A WisPolitics review found at least $58 million has been spent on the race.
Cooke, a nonprofit leader and part-time waitress from Eau Claire, reported spending $12.3 million throughout the election cycle in her pre-general election report filing, which covers activity through Oct. 14. Van Orden reported $8.7 million in spending in his report.
Cooke also outraised Van Orden, with $12.6 million to $9.5 million this cycle, according to the reports.
A WisPolitics review of independent expenditures filings found that outside groups spent more than $12.8 million opposing Van Orden and $2.28 million in support of Cooke. On the other hand, outside groups spent $5.3 million opposing Cooke and $2.28 million in support of Van Orden.
AdImpact tracked an additional $4.7 million in spending from Cooke and her backers and $10.6 million from Van Orden and his backers.
The race has been seen as one of the most competitive in the country, following the last election, which Van Orden won by 2.7 percentage points.
This is Cooke’s third run at the seat after losing the Dem primary in 2022 and losing by 2.7 percentage points to Van Orden in 2024.
Prior to Van Orden’s first term in 2023, the district had been represented by former Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Kind for over 20 years.