The Case Against Derrick Van Orden

“Rebecca Cooke was raised on a dairy farm with Wisconsin values that led her to start a small business, give back to her community, and work relentlessly to protect the Wisconsin way of life. She’s lived the struggle of too many families being crushed by the rising cost of living, thanks to Derrick Van Orden’s loyalty to Washington over Wisconsin. Van Orden guts health care, enables the Iran War, and looks down on the people he represents – but Rebecca has never forgotten where she came from or who she works for. She’ll be the fighter West Central Wisconsin deserves to fix a broken Washington, lower the cost of living, and stand up for the farmers and working families like her own,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene.
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To: Interested Parties
From: Katie Smith, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: August 11, 2026
Subject: The Case Against Derrick Van Orden

Farmers and families across West Central Wisconsin needed a representative to stand up for them when Washington Republicans made it their mission to gut rural health care funding, undermine farmers, and stick working families with higher prices. Instead, they got Derrick Van Orden. 

Van Orden is an out-of-touch fraud and a self-serving politician, more interested in following orders from the top than sticking up for the people he’s supposed to represent. Shamefully dishonest with Wisconsinites about being an independent voice for them, Van Orden has enabled every policy spiking prices and making life in rural Wisconsin more difficult: undermining family farms, making health care harder and more expensive to access, and raising the cost of living when Wisconsinites were depending on him to lower it. Van Orden doesn’t care about the people he’s supposed to represent, and his own words prove it.

Van Orden made it clear what he believes – screaming “I don’t give a f*** who you are, I’m a Congressman” and cheering on millions losing health care and food assistance – but as the daughter of dairy farmers whose family raised her with the values of hard work and servant leadership, Rebecca Cooke will fight where Van Orden has failed. Rebecca gets what working class Wisconsinites are going through, because she’s lived it: on her family’s dairy farm forced to sell due to competition from Big Ag, as a small business owner, and now as a waitress working two jobs while running for Congress to keep serving her community. Rebecca gets it.

Rebecca overperformed both the 2024 Presidential and Senate nominees because Wisconsin voters see she’s one of them. This Toss-Up race will once again be one of the most competitive in the country. With Van Orden’s failures and misplaced priorities on full display contrasting with Rebecca’s relentless fight for the place she calls home, she’s poised to win this race. 

Derrick Van Orden Is a Fraud and a Rubber Stamp Who Sides with D.C. Politicians 

Derrick Van Orden campaigned on a promise of being an independent fighter. He promised he’d do what was best for Wisconsin. That was a lie. Since he got to Washington, Van Orden has steadily become a more and more reliable rubber stamp for his party bosses.

No matter what he says about standing up for what’s right or taking on Washington, Van Orden falls in line. He may have once questioned politicians who just follow party orders – now he’s become one of them, just doing what he’s told and making life harder. He told Wisconsinites he’d oppose cuts to Medicaid as Wisconsin’s rural hospitals and families would suffer. He said he’d oppose cuts to SNAP, making a promise to families like his own who depended on it. Van Orden broke both those promises – instead, falling in line and voting for the largest cuts to Medicaid in history while ripping food off of Wisconsin families’ tables.

Van Orden stands with the D.C. politicians who bankroll his campaign. Van Orden has received over $2.2 million from his party bosses in Washington and the special interests who benefit when he sides with them. His actions prove Van Orden doesn’t do what’s right for West Central Wisconsin.

Rebecca Cooke is different. She knows that regular families in Wisconsin aren’t so far left or so far right, but want leaders who will put them first: taking on corrupt Washington, working across the aisle to deliver for working families, and standing up to both parties when they get it wrong. Rebecca only works for West Central Wisconsin, while Van Orden sides with his billionaire donors, even when it hurts Wisconsin families. Voters know they are paying the price for Van Orden’s loyalty to his party bosses and the special interests who fund him. 

Life is Harder for Western Wisconsin Families Thanks to Van Orden’s Loyalty to Washington 

Despite his promises, Van Orden sides against Wisconsin – and life is harder and more expensive thanks to his loyalty to the well-off and well-connected while he votes to hurt families here. 

Van Orden’s votes for the Big, Ugly Bill have been devastating for Wisconsin families. Wisconsin was already struggling: dwindling rural health care options, multiple recent hospital closures across the district, and care becoming more expensive. Now, Van Orden has made things worse. Hospitals across Wisconsin’s Third District are expected to lose $42 million in funding thanks to his vote. Van Orden failed to extend critical health care tax credits, causing Affordable Care Act premiums to skyrocket and families to pay more or lose their health care altogether.

And Van Orden wants to make it even worse. His campaign website literally says he wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act completely, which would rip away care from nearly 30 million people, undo protections for preexisting conditions, and raise costs even further. Van Orden said he wants to defund the Mayo Clinic, and when Wisconsinites pushed back, he doubled down. There are 28 Mayo Clinic outposts across the district serving countless Wisconsin families providing critical (or lifesaving) care, but that doesn’t matter to Van Orden.

West Central Wisconsin farmers need an advocate in Washington, but Van Orden has been an “udder” failure. He backed reckless tariffs hurting farmers – causing farm incomes to suffer, input costs to rise, soybean farmers to lose their markets, and small family farms to keep getting squeezed. Home to much of the state’s cranberry industry, cranberry growers are hurting and expecting falling profits thanks to Van Orden’s support for the tariffs. Despite his promises, he has failed to pass a new Farm Bill into law, leaving Wisconsin’s farmers in the lurch – while doing nothing to stop a bail out of Argentina with taxpayer dollars. Van Orden voted every single time to support the Iran War, prioritizing sending money overseas instead of helping Wisconsinites, causing the cost of fuel and fertilizer to skyrocket at the start of planting season. Wisconsinites are paying more at the pump, and Van Orden couldn’t care less. And despite saying that the “Ag Committee…was the only committee [he] asked to be on,” Van Orden skipped out on attending double digit numbers of Agriculture Committee hearings. He doesn’t put Wisconsin first.

Van Orden failed veterans, refusing to do anything to prevent the Klein Hall veterans home in Chippewa Falls from closing down and “personally balk[ing] at opportunities to save it.” Despite having the power through his role in Congress to request federal dollars that “can be used for ‘multipurpose community centers’ like Klein Hall,” he failed to do so – even as other Republican members of Congress “submit[ted] funding requests for veterans housing and support centers in their respective districts this year.” He didn’t lift a finger to stand up for Wisconsin veterans in need.

Van Orden’s priorities are backwards. He votes with Washington politicians and special interests to do what’s best for them – giving the rich and the big corporations tax breaks – while hurting Wisconsin. He raised prices, pledged loyalty to his party bosses and sided with the people who cut his campaign checks, and at every opportunity made life harder.

Rebecca will put West Central Wisconsin first and always do what’s best for the families and farmers who need an advocate. She’ll take on Big Agriculture and work to protect the family farms like her own, she’ll fight to reinvest in rural health care to ensure Wisconsinites still have access to care across their communities, and she’ll work to fix the broken economy and strengthen the working class so that every family in Wisconsin’s small towns has the ability to thrive.

Just Take His Word for It: Van Orden’s Own Words Prove He Doesn’t Give a Damn About Wisconsinites 

You only have to listen to Van Orden’s words to see he’s not on Wisconsinites’ side. Just take his word for it: Van Orden thinks he’s better than Wisconsin voters. 

After voting to gut Medicaid, cut SNAP, and give tax cuts to billionaires, Van Orden celebrated making Wisconsinites’ lives harder, tweeting “YES!” This keyboard warrior’s mask-off moment is an example of his backwards priorities: cheering on a big win for his party bosses, even when it hurts Wisconsin.

Van Orden repeatedly made it clear he thinks he’s better than Wisconsinites. He screamed “I don’t give a f*** who you are, I’m a congressman.” He berated a constituent, yelling “I don’t give a s**t if you vote for me or not, you are wrong” when they pushed back against his support for the Iran War. And he yelled, “I’m not a research assistant, buddy, I’m your congressman” at a constituent asking him questions about why he wanted to defund health care facilities in the district.

Van Orden refuses to show up to listen to his constituents, because he doesn’t care what they have to say. He’s never even held an in-person town hall and he skipped out on doing his job of attending Agriculture Committee hearings and advocating for Wisconsin. Instead of showing up for Wisconsin, he jetted off to tour castles in Scotland during a government shutdown while thousands of Wisconsinites went unpaid during a government shutdown.

But Rebecca Cooke shows up. Whether it’s her 19 county tour, her town halls, or her meet and greets where she hears from Wisconsinites about what’s on their minds, Rebecca listens. She will always prioritize hearing from and listening directly to Wisconsinites, a stark contrast to Van Orden’s failures and his clear belief that he is better than the people he represents.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Responding to protest, Van Orden denies spending bill cuts Medicaid [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/13/26]

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden denies voting for healthcare cuts, despite supporting a bill that reduces Medicaid spending. The bill, supported by Wisconsin’s Republican delegation, cuts nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid and introduces work requirements.

Huff Post: GOP Rep. Weirdly Lies About Helping His State Survive The Medicaid Cuts He Voted For [Huff Post, 7/8/25]

News8000: Van Orden doubles down on threat to cut Mayo Clinic’s federal funding [News8000, 9/24/25]

Heartland Signal: Derrick Van Orden decries closing of a veteran shelter he did nothing to preserve [Heartland Signal, 10/9/25]

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) is trying to blame the shutdown of a veterans housing shelter in his district on Democrats, even as he personally balked at opportunities to save it.

American Journal: Van Orden backs GOP blockade of Obamacare subsidies as costs rise [American Journal, 12/16/25]

WKOW: “On to his campaign website, Van Orden advocates for repealing the Affordable Care Act, which he refers to as Obamacare.” [WKOW, 1/9/26]

UpNorthNews: Van Orden the congressman isn’t as independent as Van Orden the candidate promised [UpNorthNews, 5/15/26]

The Derrick Van Orden who was an unsuccessful candidate in 2020 would probably have some real issues with the Derrick Van Orden currently serving in Congress when it comes to the matter of “independence,” according to a review of his floor votes over his two terms in office… Van Orden’s loyalty has risen in tandem with the campaign contributions received from party leadership… 

Heartland Signal: Records reveal Rep. Van Orden skipped 10 key Agriculture hearings as farm bankruptcies surge [Heartland Signal, 6/16/26]

Wisconsin Independent: Wisconsin man who relies on Medicaid speaks out against GOP cuts in budget law [Wisconsin Independent, 5/4/26]

Hospitals in Van Orden’s congressional district are projected to lose more than $42 million in annual revenue under the budget law, according to data compiled last summer by Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank and advocacy group. 

Wisconsin Independent: Democrats push back on Van Orden’s calls for cuts to the VA [Wisconsin Independent, 5/22/25]

PATH TO VICTORY

Rebecca Cooke is a proven overperformer and will build on the successes and gains that she made in 2024 and flip this seat come November.

Rebecca ran ahead of Vice President Harris’s 2024 margin by 4.8 points and Senator Baldwin’s margin by 1.4 points by making gains with white non-college voters, who make up a consistent two-thirds of the electorate here in both presidential and midterm elections, as well as in more rural parts of the district. Being competitive among these voters while running strong in La Crosse and Eau Claire counties, as she did in 2024, is key to Rebecca’s path to victory. Recent polling shows Rebecca with a 3 point advantage over Van Orden with Independents: a must-win group who will also help her flip WI-03 come November. The district is home to six University of Wisconsin campuses, and as young voters continue to move away from Republicans, this voting block will be critical in flipping this seat.

Faced with a choice between a failed and out-of-touch politician who thinks he’s better than the people he represents, versus a relentless fighter for the people and place she calls home, Wisconsin voters will elect Rebecca Cooke. Rebecca will never forget where she came from, and she will always put West Central Wisconsin first to get prices down, support farmers and families, and protect the Wisconsin way of life. 

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