In his latest ad, U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, tells Dem challenger Rebecca Cooke to “try harder.”
The 30-second spot is running in the La Crosse and Eau Claire media markets.
The ad opens with the narrator asking, “Seen this ad?” followed by images from an ad from the Cooke campaign that began airing last week accusing Van Orden of “taking millions from corporate special interests.”
The ad goes on to say that assertions in the Cooke ad that Van Orden “allowed Congressional stock trading” is “totally false.”
The ad goes to reference news reports about Van Orden’s support of the Stop Insider Trading Act, which bars members of Congress and immediate family members from buying new individual stocks and requires members to provide notice when they sell stock. But it allows for trading other securities and does not require members to divest of their current holdings.
The narrator then says, “Rebecca Cooke got caught, total bull****,” with the expletive replaced by the sound of a cow mooing.
Audio from a news report says, “Van Orden says he’s never bought or sold an individual stock.”
The ad ends with the narrator saying, “C’mon Rebecca, try harder.”
Cooke and Van Orden are set for a rematch in November after the GOP incumbent narrowly beat the Dem challenger in 2024.
