U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, and Dem challenger Rebecca Cooke are at odds about meeting in a debate this fall after the two failed to do one two years ago.
Cooke is calling for a debate with “an objective nonpartisan host” while Van Orden has been accusing her of “dodging a debate” following an invitation from a state-level affiliate of the NRA.
Representatives for Van Orden and Cooke’s campaign confirmed to WisPolitics that Wisconsin Firearm Owners, a state-level NRA affiliate, is the only debate invitation the campaigns have received.
Van Orden, who first challenged Cooke to meet in July, has accepted the invitation to the proposed one-hour debate that would take place Oct. 29 in Adams, both the Republican’s campaign and the group’s president Rob Kovach confirmed.
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The debate questions would be asked exclusively by a moderator, who has yet to be finalized. Cooke’s campaign confirmed receipt of the invitation though Kovach told WisPolitics the campaign has yet to respond.
Since Sunday, Van Orden has posted seven different times on X referencing his debate challenge and accusing Cooke of “dodging a debate.”
“I challenged her to a debate on JULY 12th, so she can explain why she wants to Minnesota our Wisconsin. Still have not heard from her,” Van Orden wrote on X.
Cooke, in a statement to WisPolitics, noted that Van Orden has not participated in a town hall since he was elected and that “the voters deserve an objective nonpartisan host” of a potential debate.
“We are all used to him tweeting instead of listening to people across West Central Wisconsin. I’ve said for weeks I look forward to debating him and addressing the real issues we all face here,” Cooke said in a statement to WisPolitics
Van Orden has not debated one of his general election opponents since he was the GOP challenger to former Dem U.S. Rep. Ron Kind in 2020.
The 2020 debate was held by WKBT, the La Crosse CBS affiliate. WKBT News Director Jason Walker told WisPolitics there are no plans for a debate at this time.
In 2022, Democratic nominee Brad Pfaff challenged Van Orden to a debate moderated by a third party. Van Orden rejected the invitation and said he would only participate in “town hall style” debate led with questions from the public.
In 2024, the UW-La Crosse Debate Coalition invited both candidates, though Van Orden objected to the debate proposal over concerns about a lack of negotiations with his campaign staff.