MADISON, Wis. — Following the primary election results, Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Haley King released the following statement:

“Derrick Van Orden has spent his time in D.C. as a rubber-stamp for the GOP’s cost-raising agenda—he’s more focused on appealing to his MAGA buddies and billionaire donors than on delivering for the people who elected him. Instead of doing the work needed to lower costs for Wisconsinites, he chases online attention and has turned himself into a national embarrassment for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District. We have a real opportunity to change that. Wisconsin Democrats are excited to defeat  Van Orden and just as eager to elect Rebecca Cooke, who will actually fight for the people of Western and Central Wisconsin in Congress.”

Derrick Van Orden held his seat by a razor-thin 2.7% margin in 2024, significantly underperforming the top of the ticket. Without Trump’s coattails to ride in a midterm year, Van Orden’s path back to Congress looks considerably harder—especially in an electoral environment that appears to be turning against MAGA Republicans like Van Orden. Cook Political Report currently rates WI-03 as a toss-up and it remains one of Democrats’ top targets in an effort to flip the House and put a check on the Trump administration’s extreme agenda.

See more on Derrick Van Orden’s record of working against Wisconsinites in Congress: 

  • Derrick Van Orden votes with MAGA Republicans 97% of the time, including voting to raise the cost of everything from gas and groceries to utilities and healthcare.
  • Van Orden has worked to keep healthcare more expensive and less accessible for Wisconsinites his whole career. In Congress, he voted with MAGA to gut the Affordable Care Act which nearly 300,000 Wisconsinites rely on.
  • Gas prices have reached near-record highs in Wisconsin due to the Van Orden-backed illegal war in Iran that is making life more unaffordable for working Wisconsinites.
  • Van Orden strongly supports the MAGA tariff-taxes that drive up inflation, raise the costs of everyday goods and hurt Wisconsin farms and businesses.
  • Van Orden is a MAGA extremist who used campaign funds to attend January 6th and has spread false election conspiracies for years.
  • Van Orden is willing to cover up for pedophiles by voting against the release of the Epstein files, proving he will defend abusers instead of standing up for child sex abuse survivors.
  • Van Orden has a well documented history of private and public outbursts, including screaming at children, so extreme his colleagues on both sides of the aisle have felt compelled to scold his behavior.
  • Van Orden supports extreme abortion policies, including supporting bans without exceptions for rape and incest.
  • Van Orden demonstrates predatory behavior towards women, and goes so far as to brag about sexual harassment in his book.