Three Democrats face off in the 2024 primaries for Wisconsin‘s 3rd congressional districtwhere the winner will face incumbent Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden.
These candidates are Eau Claire small business owner Rebecca Cooke, state Rep. Katrina Shankland, Stevens Point Democrat and Eau Claire mortgage loan officer Eric Wilson. All three are vying for a spot in the November general election, with a primary scheduled for mid-August.
The state’s 3rd Congressional District covers much of western Wisconsin, including the Driftless area along the Mississippi River, and encompasses Menomonee, Eau Claire, La Crosse and Prairie du Chien, and extends along parts of the river Wisconsin to include areas around Wisconsin Rapids and Stevens. Spot.
The district is distinguished by its geography and its politics: Before Van Orden was elected in 2022, the district was represented by Ron Kind, a moderate Democrat, for 26 years.
Van Orden represents a departure from Kind and his predecessor Steve Gunderson, a moderate Republican who represented the district for 16 years, from 1981 to 1997. Instead, Van Orden has made a name for himself in politics by making bold statements in line with the extreme right side. of the Republican base.
Van Orden won the seat in 2022 against Brad Pfaff, also a moderate Democrat, by just four points. The rise of nationalized politics has played a role in persuading more rural voters to cast ballots for Republicans, who have been gaining ground in the district for years.
About his campaign website, Van Orden describes himself as an “American patriot, retired Navy SEAL, and Christian.” He is an ally of former President Donald Trump and a vocal critic of President Joe Biden. A Facebook photo from January 6, 2021 showed that Van Orden attended Trump’s rally outside the White House shortly before the attack on the Capitol, although he denies ever entering the building.
As a United States Representative, Van Orden serves on three House committees in the 118th Congress: Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Veterans Affairs. But he might be best known for his multiple outbursts in Washington, D.C., including shouting “Lies!” during Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address and a 2023 incident in which he yelled at U.S. Senate pages for taking photos in the Capitol Rotunda.
The three Democrats running in the 2024 primaries anticipate another close race in the general election.
Cooke also ran in the 2022 Democratic primary for the seat, where came in second place seven points behind Pfaff. It is a moderate more in line with Kind, with the support of the Blue Dog Cap that backs Democrats in districts that Donald Trump won in the past.
The group it has been successful With this approach, although I have decreased in numbers during recent election cycles, as Democratic voters have favored more progressive candidates. Cooke participated in her race in July 2023 and describes herself in her campaign website as a “fierce advocate” for small towns and rural communities.
Shankland, the second Democrat to announce her intention to run, has represented Stevens Point Shankland has been a member of the state Assembly since 2013. She has not openly positioned herself as more or less liberal or moderate than Cooke, but she has earned support from progressive U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, as well as several unions. Shankland says she is running to “bring some common sense” to Washington, DC in her campaign. campaign website.
The race between Cooke and Shankland has remained mostly positive, but Shankland has thrown hits Cooke for fundraising.
Wilson has positioned himself as the most progressive candidate in the Democratic primaries. Wilson, the third candidate to enter the race, includes “Medicare for All,” a “Green New Deal” and a ceasefire in Gaza among his top campaign issues. campaign website.
Now, in nearly his third year of campaigning for the seat, Cooke has a fundraising advantage over the rest of the Democratic primary candidates.
In the first few months of 2024, Cooke reported receiving nearly $500,000 in donations and, as of April, had more than $800,000 in cash. Shankland has raised just $300,000 over the same period, with about $350,000 in cash. Wilson is a distant third, with about $17,000 raised from the same amount in cash.
Meanwhile, Van Orden has raised more money than any of the Democratic candidates, reporting $700,000 raised in 2024, with $1.9 million total in the bank in April.
Along with fundraising, the question of how large turnout will be in the primary and general elections is significant in what is expected to be another close race.
The 2022 midterm elections, when Van Orden was elected to office, had a similar number of voters as the previous 2018 midterm elections, although general elections typically have much higher turnout. However, a lack of voter enthusiasm leaves experts unsure how many voters will go to the polls in 2024.
In an April survey, the Marquette Law School survey found a 20% drop in the number of people who are “very excited” to vote in the 2024 general election compared to the same point in 2020. With such small margins to be elected in Wisconsin (Van Orden won the seat by about 13,000 votes) achieving a high participation base will be key for each candidate.
The primaries are scheduled for August 12, followed by the general election on November 5.
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