A former waitress, small-business owner and nonprofit founder won the Democratic primary in Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District on Tuesday, setting her up for a rematch with Republican Rep.Derrick Van Orden.Rebecca Cooke, raised on an Eau Claire-area dairy farm, defeated former Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge on Tuesday evening.
The win puts Cooke back on the ballot in one of Democrats’ top House pickup opportunities this fall.It will be Cooke’s third attempt to win the western Wisconsin seat.She lost the 2022 Democratic primary to then-state Sen.
Brad Pfaff before securing the party’s nomination in 2024.Van Orden defeated her that November by roughly 11,000 votes, winning 51.4% of the vote to Cooke’s 48.6%.WISCONSIN DEM TOUTS ENDORSEMENT FROM UNION PUSHING BACK AGAINST CDL CRACKDOWNS ON ILLEGAL ALIEN TRUCKERSRebecca Cooke, candidate for Congress in Wisconsin's Third Congressional District, speaks during a town hall hosted by Pete Buttigieg at the La Crosse Center on January 16, 2026 in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
(Kayla Wolf/Getty Images)Cooke has sought to make her working-class background central to her campaign.She grew up on a dairy farm near Eau Claire, has worked as a waitress since she was a teenager and founded the Red Letter Grant, a nonprofit supporting women entrepreneurs.
She also previously operated a small retail business and served on the board of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.after being appointed by Democratic Gov.
Tony Evers.Her campaign has focused on affordability, health care and the economic challenges facing rural communities, while portraying Cooke as a pragmatic Democrat able to appeal across party lines in a district that includes Eau Claire, La Crosse and much of western Wisconsin.Cooke entered the primary as the better-funded candidate and with national support from Democrats.The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) added Cooke to its "Red to Blue" program, which directs party resources tow...