National Democrats shift Derrick Van Orden race onto priority 'Red to Blue' list

One of the biggest question marks looming over state Democrats in the fight for a western Wisconsin swing seat is just how involved their national counterparts will be in the race.

On Thursday, they got a hint at an answer.

House Democrats' main campaign arm added non-profit owner Rebecca Cooke to their "Red to Blue" program, a list of top candidates they intend to support as they seek to flip Republican-held seats and win back the majority. Cooke on Tuesday won a three-way Democratic primary race and will face freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden in November.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's addition of Cooke to the list is the latest signal national Democrats could focus on Wisconsin's swing 3rd Congressional District. The group last year listed the district as among more than two dozen "in play" for 2024. But the Red to Blue addition indicates the group is "invested in providing Cooke... with the support needed to continue building a winning campaign," the DCCC said Thursday.

"Western Wisconsinites can trust Rebecca Cooke to deliver for them because that’s what she’s done her whole life — from opening a small business in Eau Claire, to helping other women in her community become entrepreneurs, to working with Governor Evers to create jobs in Wisconsin," said DCCC Chairwoman Suzan DelBene, a congresswoman from Washington.

Just how involved national Democrats will be in the 3rd Congressional District this year has been a point in question since Wisconsin Democrats last cycle accused the national party of abandoning their candidate. Van Orden defeated Onalaska Democratic state Sen. Brad Pfaff by about 4 points to flip the seat red for the first time in 26 years.

Van Orden vastly out-raised Pfaff and received hundreds of thousands of dollars in support from outside Republican groups during the race as the DCCC and other Democratic groups left Pfaff in the lurch. The DCCC, in fact, did not invest any money in Pfaff, and Pfaff was not put on the group's Red to Blue list.

House Majority PAC, Democrats’ largest outside group for congressional campaigns, reserved $1.68 million in ad buys for Pfaff at the end of the campaign but later canceled those reservations.

Republicans this year, meanwhile, have seized on Democrats' negative primary race as a sign Van Orden is better positioned to win in November. National Republican Congressional Committee has attempted to label Cooke as "extreme" as Democrats have zeroed in Van Orden's temperament.

"Congressman Derrick Van Orden continues to deliver results for Wisconsin veterans and workers, while extreme Democrat Rebecca Cooke has been left outright unelectable," NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said.

The DCCC's move on Thursday does not guarantee the group will invest heavily in Cooke's campaign against Van Orden. But Wisconsin Democrats in recent months have gained confidence that support will come.

House Majority PAC late last month reserved nearly $4 million in television ads for October around the district. The sum included about $1.2 million in the La Crosse media market, $1.2 million in the Madison media market, and $1.4 million in the Wausau market.

Cooke on Wednesday told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that her campaign has been doing "everything that we can to make the case for people to want to invest in this district."

She said she is determined to convince people the 3rd Congressional District is a "prime pickup opportunity" as Democrats seek to flip Republicans razor-thin House majority. She said she plans to reach moderate and independent voters by campaigning not only in the more populated cities of Eau Claire, La Crosse and Stevens Point but also in the district's rural, red towns.

"I know we share a lot of similar values," Cooke said. "So that's going to be really critical work for us to be doing in order to bring people off the sidelines and to swing voters over."

Cooke reported raising more than $2 million entering the primary — the most by a Democrat in the race — and had about $590,000 in cash on hand. Van Orden raised nearly $4.9 million so far this cycle. He had $2.4 million in cash on hand at the end of last month.

"I think it's all about doing the work and spending the time doing the voter outreach, building a grassroots campaign," Cooke said of getting national Democratic help.

She added: "We're continuing to raise the resources on our own to show that we've got strength in this race."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: National Dems shift Van Orden race onto priority 'Red to Blue' list