The DCCC announced today Rebecca Cooke is among the 12 Dem House candidates added to its program seeking to flip GOP-held seats this fall.
Those in the “Red to Blue” program receive staff resources, training and fundraising support. They earn a spot by meeting certain benchmarks, including fundraising goals.
Cooke pulled in $1.2 million in receipts during the fourth quarter, outraising GOP U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who pulled in $931,453 for the period. Cooke also cut into Van Orden’s cash on hand advantage in the period, finishing 2025 with more than $2.5 million in the bank, compared to his $2.7 million.
Cooke, who runs a nonprofit, lost to Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, by 2.7 percentage points in 2024. He was the only GOP House incumbent in Wisconsin to underperform Donald Trump in their district that fall.
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Wisconsin’s 3rd CD wasn’t on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s initial list of targeted seats for its Red to Blue program in early 2024. But it added Cooke after she won a three-way primary that August.
This year, Cooke faces Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge and Rodney Rave, a union operating engineer and former Ho-Chunk Nation legislator, for the Dem nomination in the 3rd.