Democrat Rebecca Cooke defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Prairie du Chien in the race for Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District, which covers western Wisconsin including La Crosse and Eau Claire.
With 90 percent of the votes counted, Cooke led with 52.2 percent to Van Orden's 46 percent. The state Democratic Party declared Cooke the winner on election night.
The contest was the most expensive congressional race in Wisconsin history. A WisPolitics review put total spending at at least $58 million. Cooke reported spending $12.3 million through mid-October and raising $12.6 million for the cycle, while Van Orden reported $8.7 million in spending and $9.5 million raised.
Outside groups added heavily to the total, spending more than $12.8 million against Van Orden and $5.3 million against Cooke, along with millions more supporting each candidate.
This was Cooke's third run for the seat. She lost the Democratic primary in 2022 and lost to Van Orden by 2.7 percentage points in 2024, the same margin Van Orden won by that year. Before Van Orden took office in 2023, the district was held for more than 20 years by Democrat Ron Kind.
