Madison, WI, August 24, 2026—The Wisconsin Firearm Owners invited both candidates for Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District to participate in a debate on October 29 in Adams, Wisconsin. Congressman Derrick Van Orden has accepted our invitation. As of today, we have not received confirmation from the Cooke campaign.
Van Orden and Cooke have publicly stated in multiple places that they are ready to debate. Cooke said on Monday that she was ready to debate and suggesting Congressman Van Orden likely would not be. (hyperlink —
https://www.wsaw.com/2026/08/
We believe voters deserve the opportunity to hear directly from both candidates. That means moving beyond statements about being “ready to debate” and actually accepting invitations to appear before voters.
Congressman Van Orden has said yes. We are still waiting for Rebecca Cooke to do the same.
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