Cooke announces 2026 run for Congress in western Wisconsin

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (Civic Media) – Rebecca Cooke is announcing a run for Congress next year in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District.

Cooke, a Democrat, previously ran for the office in 2022 and 2024. She lost in the 2022 primary to state Senator Brad Pfaff, who was defeated by Republican Derrick Van Orden.

In last fall’s election, Cooke lost to Van Orden by 11,256 votes out of 413,181 ballots cast, but out-performed the top Democrats on the ballot, presidential candidate Kamala Harris and U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, in the western and central Wisconsin district.

“I’m running for Congress because Wisconsin families deserve a fair shot and a seat at the table,” Cooke said in her campaign announcement. “While Derrick Van Orden cowers and hides from the people of western Wisconsin, big drug companies are jacking up our medicine prices, out-of-touch elites are blocking pathways to homeownership and good jobs, and chaos continues to dominate Washington.”

Like her 2022 and 2024 campaigns, Cooke is touting her background as a small business owner, experience in running non-profits, and upbringing on a dairy farm as important perspectives to bring to office.

“It’s clear we need more working-class voices in Congress who have lived failed policy and will actually fight like hell to rebuild the middle class,” Cooke said. “We need one of us in Congress – working-class folks who know what our families are going through, how to balance a budget, and spend within their means.”

Cooke has been critical of Van Orden’s term in Congress since the fall election, calling him “spineless” on Twitter/X after a late February vote in Congress. Since November, she’s also publicly supported Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford and both Jill Underly and Jeff Wright for state superintendent.

Cooke will make her formal campaign announcement at a farm in Chippewa County on Tuesday. She is the first candidate to announce for the 2026 election. Eau Claire City Council president Emily Berge is also considering a run for the seat.