Back to the race desk

U.S. House

Wisconsin
District 3

Election day: November 3, 2026

The candidates and ballot details for this 2026 U.S. House race, with the original election records attached.

The Stated Record analysis: Toss-up

Updated September 3, 2026

Who is running?

Printed ballot candidates

  • Derrick Van OrdenRepublican
  • Rebecca CookeDemocratic
  • Alexander Valiensi KentIndependent
  • Rustin ProvanceIndependent

The sample ballot also includes an unnamed write-in line.

Source: La Crosse County Clerk official sample ballot

Checked September 2, 2026

Voter guide

The candidates, side by side

Background comes from government or official office records, and from the campaign's own biography where the bullet says so. Goals are summarized from each campaign's own platform page and stay attributed to the campaign. The record lines are official votes, sponsorships, and filings with the government source attached. Money is shown as filed, by the type the FEC records for the contributing committee, and is not evidence of why any position was taken. Money rows are itemized receipts from political committees; transfers from joint fundraising committees and the conduit entries for earmarked individual contributions sit on their own rows and are not additive with the rest; other memo entries, reimbursements, and receipts from organizations that are not political committees are excluded; each candidate's note gives the filing window and the reconciliation to the FEC summary.

Derrick Van Orden

Background

  • The sitting member for Wisconsin's third district, in his second term; Congress.gov records his service beginning with the 118th Congress in January 2023. Congress.gov
  • His campaign says he served 26 years in the Navy, 21 of them as a SEAL, and returned to Wisconsin to open a small business. Van Orden for Congress
  • He chairs the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee, receives his own health care through the VA, and says he is the first Wisconsin member in more than a decade to sit on the House Agriculture Committee. Van Orden for Congress

What they say they want to do

  • Safe drinking water, well-maintained roads and bridges, and reliable rural broadband for western Wisconsin. Van Orden for Congress
  • Protection for people with pre-existing conditions once the Affordable Care Act is repealed and replaced by a system he says would drive costs down through competition. Van Orden for Congress
  • Term limits on all legislators, so that election to Congress “remains an act of public service, not a way to enrich one's self”. Van Orden for Congress
  • Data centre development that needs local consent, spares productive farmland, protects ratepayers from new grid costs, and uses closed-loop or air-cooled systems rather than local water. Van Orden for Congress
  • Continued support for border enforcement and for legislation classifying fentanyl as a controlled substance. Van Orden for Congress

What the official record shows

Campaign money from other committees, by type

Transfers and contributions from joint fundraising committees 9 committees$2,088,471
Leadership PACs 81 committees$366,000
House 63 committees$149,491
Trade Association PACs 41 committees$142,500
PAC - Qualified 24 committees$112,750
Corporation PACs 22 committees$69,000
Membership Organization PACs 18 committees$64,001
Labor Organization PACs 9 committees$33,000
Cooperative PACs 8 committees$20,000
Hybrid PAC (with Non-Contribution Account) - Qualified 4 committees$17,000
Party committees 2 committees$15,000
PAC - Nonqualified 3 committees$5,500
Committees the FEC records no type for 2 committees$3,000
Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) 1 committee$2,500

Source: Federal Election Commission

Money from political committees in the 2025-26 cycle, through July 22, 2026 (FEC lines 11B, 11C and 12). The rows sum to 3,088,213.16 dollars. Donations from individuals, including through ActBlue or WinRed, are not counted here.

Rebecca Cooke

Background

  • Holds no public office. Her campaign describes her as a waitress, small business owner and nonprofit leader who grew up on a sixth-generation Wisconsin dairy farm. Cooke for Congress
  • She says she moved back to Eau Claire in 2014 to start her own small business, and that the nonprofit she founded has helped more than seventy small businesses create local jobs. Cooke for Congress
  • The state records her appointment as a Private Sector Representative on the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, read and referred in February 2019 and withdrawn by the Governor in October 2021. Wisconsin State Legislature

What they say they want to do

  • Cap out-of-pocket costs on insulin, inhalers and cancer drugs at thirty dollars a month, and expand Medicare to vision, dental and hearing. Cooke for Congress
  • Ban stock trading by members of Congress and the White House, and end Citizens United. Cooke for Congress
  • Raise the federal minimum wage to fifteen dollars on a rolling schedule beginning with the largest employers. Cooke for Congress
  • Enforce antitrust law against agricultural conglomerates, direct subsidies to small and midsize farms, and protect farmland from purchase by foreign nationals. Cooke for Congress
  • A moratorium on new hyperscale data centre development and an end to its tax breaks, which she ties to rising utility rates. Cooke for Congress

What the official record shows

  • Appointed by the Governor as a Private Sector Representative on the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation; the appointment was read and referred to committee on this date. Wisconsin State Legislature
  • The committee recommended confirmation of that appointment, Ayes 5, Noes 0. Wisconsin State Legislature
  • The Governor withdrew the appointment, ending her service on the board. Wisconsin State Legislature

Campaign money from other committees, by type

Transfers and contributions from joint fundraising committees 6 committees$824,809
Leadership PACs 50 committees$163,500
PAC - Qualified 31 committees$119,050
Labor Organization PACs 14 committees$79,000
Hybrid PAC (with Non-Contribution Account) - Qualified 8 committees$59,500
House 25 committees$49,000
Membership Organization PACs 13 committees$30,500
PAC - Nonqualified 2 committees$10,500
Independent expenditure filer (not a committee) 1 committee$5,000
Trade Association PACs 3 committees$4,250
Committees the FEC records no type for 3 committees$2,100
Hybrid PAC (with Non-Contribution Account) - Nonqualified 1 committee$1,000
Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only) 1 committee$75

Source: Federal Election Commission

Money from political committees in the 2025-26 cycle, through July 22, 2026 (FEC lines 11B, 11C and 12). The rows sum to 1,348,284.40 dollars. Donations from individuals, including through ActBlue or WinRed, are not counted here.

Alexander Valiensi Kent

Background

  • Holds no public office. His candidate page describes him as a social worker with a master's degree, and the author of a book called Voter Directed Democracy. Voter Directed Network
  • He founded the Voter Directed Network, which is both the organisation behind his candidacy and the mechanism his platform proposes. Voter Directed Network

What they say they want to do

  • Full voter empowerment: online, issue-by-issue voting by verified voters, on the principle of one voter, one vote, on all issues. Voter Directed Network
  • Ending political corruption rather than reducing it, through a system with “no donors, no lobbyists, no Super PACs, and no political parties”. Voter Directed Network
  • Servant leadership, which he defines as a commitment to help the people served become freer, wiser, healthier and more capable than before. Voter Directed Network

What the official record shows

He has never held public office, so there is no official record of votes, bills or decisions to list. What he offers instead is a platform, which is above, and a book. His campaign makes no claim about a record of his own for this column to test. Voter Directed Network, Voter Directed Network

Campaign money from other committees, by type

There is no money table because there is no money report. His principal campaign committee has filed two things with the Federal Election Commission: a statement of organization in April 2026 and a miscellaneous submission in July. It has never filed a report of receipts and disbursements, which is consistent with the no-donor campaign he says he is running. Federal Election Commission, Voter Directed Network

Source: Federal Election Commission

Rustin Levem Provance

Background

  • Holds no public office. He writes that he went to prison weeks after his eighteenth birthday for property crimes committed as a minor, served thirteen and a half years, and tutored for the G.E.D. while inside. Rustin Provance for Congress
  • Since his release he has earned an HVAC-R certificate through trade school and moved to Wisconsin; he describes a family of seven. Rustin Provance for Congress
  • He stood for this seat as a Libertarian in 2022 and as an independent in 2024, and his committee has been registered with the Federal Election Commission since December 2023. Federal Election Commission

What they say they want to do

  • A two-term limit on legislators, matching the presidency, which he says he will hold himself to whether or not it is enacted. Rustin Provance for Congress
  • Ending the Federal Reserve and its fiat currency, with the currency backed by tangible goods instead. Rustin Provance for Congress
  • Dismantling the Department of Education, with funding following home-schooled children and any surplus going toward college. Rustin Provance for Congress
  • Accountability for judges and prosecutors, and term limits on the Supreme Court, while distinguishing individual officers from a system he says is broken. Rustin Provance for Congress
  • Stronger relations with native nations, which he describes as poor at best, and steady rather than swinging military funding. Rustin Provance for Congress

What the official record shows

He has never held public office, so there is no official record of votes, bills or decisions to list. He withdrew from this race in 2022 and again in 2024 before either election, so neither run produced a result to record. His campaign makes no claim about a record of his own for this column to test. Rustin Provance for Congress, Federal Election Commission

Campaign money from other committees, by type

There is no money table because there is no money report. His principal campaign committee has filed statements of organization in December 2023 and April 2025, and nothing else. Across two cycles it has never filed a report of receipts and disbursements, which is consistent with his statement that he will not be taking donations. Federal Election Commission, Rustin Provance for Congress

Source: Federal Election Commission

Race outlook

How election analysts rate this race

Categories are ordered judgments, not win probabilities.

The Stated Record analysisToss-up

Based on 2 verified rating sources. 1 stale or missing rating was excluded.

  • Cook Political ReportToss Up

    Cook Political Report assessed this Aug 25, 2026; checked Sep 3, 2026.

  • Inside ElectionsToss-up · stale

    Inside Elections assessed this Jun 12, 2026; checked Sep 3, 2026. Stale ratings are shown for transparency but excluded from our synthesis.

  • Sabato's Crystal BallToss-up

    Sabato's Crystal Ball assessed this Aug 26, 2026; checked Sep 3, 2026.

Our synthesis uses the median-style ordinal rule described in Methodology. It is our analysis, not another independent rating.

What to know

The race in context

  • Rebecca Cooke's Democratic primary win set up another race against Derrick Van Orden, Wisconsin Public Radio reported.

    As of Sep 3, 2026. Sources: Wisconsin Public Radio

Candidate records

The field, without the campaign gloss

Current public roles come from government sources. Campaign-finance IDs come from the FEC.

Republican

Derrick Van Orden

Current U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District, in his second term.

FEC candidate
H0WI03175
Principal committee
C00742007
Official role source

Public profiles

  • X @derrickvanordenPublic profile linked by the campaign site. His congressional office keeps separate accounts, which are not these.
  • Facebook derrickvanordenPublic profile linked by the campaign site. Post availability and account metadata can change.
  • Instagram @derrickvanordenPublic profile linked by the campaign site. Post availability and account metadata can change.

Democratic

Rebecca Cooke

Holds no public office. Her campaign describes her as a waitress, small business owner and nonprofit leader.

FEC candidate
H4WI03169
Principal committee
C00844993
Official role source

Public profiles

Independent

Alexander Valiensi Kent

Holds no public office. His candidate page describes him as a social worker and the author of Voter Directed Democracy.

FEC candidate
H6WI03230
Principal committee
C00948240
Official role source

Public profiles

  • Facebook alexander.valiensi.kentListed as his campaign social media on PBS Wisconsin's candidate page. His own site links no social accounts, so this is the only one the desk found.
  • X: not foundNo X account is linked from his candidate page, his site's home page, or PBS Wisconsin's entry for him.
  • Instagram: not foundNo Instagram account is linked from his candidate page, his site's home page, or PBS Wisconsin's entry for him.

Independent

Rustin Levem Provance

Holds no public office. His campaign biography describes him as holding an HVAC-R certificate and having previously studied toward a paralegal qualification.

FEC candidate
H2WI03163
Principal committee
C00859504
Official role source

Public profiles

  • Facebook 61590917901907His campaign page. His own site links no social accounts, so this was found by search rather than from the site.
  • X: not foundNo X account is linked from any of the four pages his site serves, and none was found by search.
  • Instagram: not foundNo Instagram account is linked from any of the four pages his site serves, and none was found by search.

Profile links show what is public now, not a complete archive. Each link was confirmed through the campaign site unless a note says otherwise. Individual social posts enter the evidence record only with a post URL, date, context, and review note.

Issue comparison

What each campaign says

These are attributed platform positions, not promises The Stated Record has verified or endorsed.

Money and power in Washington

Derrick Van Orden

Supports term limits on all legislators, so that election to Congress “remains an act of public service, not a way to enrich one’s self”.

Source: Van Orden for Congress

Rebecca Cooke

Would ban stock trading by members of Congress and the White House, and end Citizens United to “get corporate and dark money out of politics”.

Source: Cooke for Congress

Alexander Valiensi Kent

Would end political corruption rather than reduce it, through a political system with “no donors, no lobbyists, no Super PACs, and no political parties”, none of which he notes are in the Constitution.

Source: Voter Directed Network

Rustin Levem Provance

Would impose a two-term limit on legislators as the presidency has, and states that he will not accept donations: “money should not buy elections”.

Source: Rustin Provance for Congress, Rustin Provance for Congress

Health care

Derrick Van Orden

Would protect people with pre-existing conditions “when Obamacare is fully repealed and a new system is implemented allowing for true competition in healthcare, driving costs down”. While that happens, his campaign says he has already delivered for the district: $1 billion annually for BadgerCare, $500 million to strengthen Wisconsin’s rural hospital infrastructure, and a further $600,000 for new ambulances in underserved parts of the district. He describes the goal as health care that is “high quality, readily available, and actually affordable”.

Source: Van Orden for Congress

Rebecca Cooke

Would cap out-of-pocket costs on insulin, inhalers and cancer drugs at thirty dollars a month, expand Medicare to cover vision, dental and hearing — “the very things that deteriorate as we age” — and reverse Medicaid and Affordable Care Act cuts while funding rural hospitals. She would also lower the Medicare eligibility age by a year at a time, raise Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates so rural hospitals can keep providing care, and address antitrust in a system she says leaves consumers little choice. She writes as a small business owner who buys her own coverage on the exchange.

Source: Cooke for Congress

Alexander Valiensi Kent

No position on health care is stated. His platform is the process by which policy is decided — issue-by-issue voting by verified voters, one voter and one vote on all issues — rather than an outcome on any given issue. Health care is not among the examples he uses.

Source: Voter Directed Network, Voter Directed Network

Rustin Levem Provance

Would “remove federal control over healthcare, as it is an individual issue”, on the grounds that “you know what is best for you and your family”, and would take preventative measures so that what he calls the federal overstep of recent years cannot recur.

Source: Rustin Provance for Congress

Farms and dairy

Derrick Van Orden

Says he is the first Wisconsin member in more than a decade on the House Agriculture Committee, and names the Dairy Business Innovation Act and the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act as wins he delivered.

Source: Van Orden for Congress

Rebecca Cooke

Would enforce antitrust law against agricultural conglomerates, direct tax incentives to small and midsize farms rather than large ones, restructure the Farm Bill toward farming itself, and protect farmland from purchase by foreign nationals.

Source: Cooke for Congress

Alexander Valiensi Kent

No position on agriculture is stated, though he names farm policy as an example of an issue voters would decide directly under his proposal.

Source: Voter Directed Network

Rustin Levem Provance

No position on agriculture is stated on any of the four pages his campaign site serves.

Source: Rustin Provance for Congress, Rustin Provance for Congress

Clean water and PFAS

Derrick Van Orden

Says he has secured millions for western Wisconsin drinking water free of contaminants, and $350 million to move firefighting foams off PFAS.

Source: Van Orden for Congress

Rebecca Cooke

Would work with regional stakeholders to “rapidly address the PFAS issue in our water — including more testing, remediation and research”, and build coalitions with farmers on run-off affecting waterways.

Source: Cooke for Congress

Alexander Valiensi Kent

No position on water quality is stated.

Source: Voter Directed Network, Voter Directed Network

Rustin Levem Provance

No position on water quality is stated. His platform does address the environment, on the long-term effects of nuclear testing, which is a different subject.

Source: Rustin Provance for Congress

Veterans

Derrick Van Orden

Chairs the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee, receives his own care through the VA, and says he fought to protect veterans from foreclosure through the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act.

Source: Van Orden for Congress

Rebecca Cooke

No position on veterans is stated in her platform, which runs to more than two thousand words across ten subject headings. Her biography refers to a family of farmers and veterans.

Source: Cooke for Congress, Cooke for Congress

Alexander Valiensi Kent

No position on veterans is stated, though he names veterans policy as an example of an issue voters would decide directly under his proposal.

Source: Voter Directed Network

Rustin Levem Provance

Would keep military funding steady rather than swinging with each administration, and says “Veterans will have access to the resources they need, as people are not expendable.”

Source: Rustin Provance for Congress

Costs and the rural economy

Derrick Van Orden

Says four years of the previous administration strained Wisconsin family finances, and champions what he calls the Working Family Tax Cuts to keep more earnings with the earner.

Source: Van Orden for Congress

Rebecca Cooke

Would raise the federal minimum wage to fifteen dollars on a rolling schedule starting with large employers, expand community block grants for rural affordable housing, defer property tax for first-time buyers up to five years, and fund child care incubators in small towns.

Source: Cooke for Congress

Alexander Valiensi Kent

No economic position is stated. His platform is the process by which policy is decided rather than an outcome on any given issue.

Source: Voter Directed Network, Voter Directed Network

Rustin Levem Provance

Would end the Federal Reserve and its fiat currency to bring down inflation and what he calls over-taxation, and states of tax generally: “It’s your money, you should keep it.”

Source: Rustin Provance for Congress

Words and record

Where statements meet official action

The number of cards varies with what each candidate's official record supports, and every card carries the same required parts: what they say, what the official record shows, one label from the fixed list, and its limit. Each card is labeled narrowly, by rule. A single vote, sponsorship, or filing can match one claim without proving a candidate's whole record, and a card never says why someone did something.

Derrick Van Orden

Protecting veterans from foreclosure

Matches stated record claim

What they say

His campaign says he has demanded accountability from the VA and fought to protect veterans from foreclosure through the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act.

fought to protect veterans from foreclosure through the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act

Source: Van Orden for Congress

What the record shows ·

He introduced that Act as H.R. 1815 on March 3, 2025, as its only sponsor, with no cosponsors. The House passed it by voice vote on May 19 and the Senate by voice vote on July 15. It became Public Law 119-31 on July 30, 2025, and authorises the VA to pay a loan holder the amount needed to avoid foreclosure, and to establish a partial claim programme.

Sources: Congress.gov, U.S. Government Publishing Office

Limit: Both chambers passed the bill by voice vote, so no roll call records which members supported it. The law's effect on any individual foreclosure is not something this record can show — what it establishes is that the Act exists, that he alone introduced it, and that it was signed.

Derrick Van Orden

$350 million to move firefighting foam off PFAS

Matches stated record claim

What they say

His campaign says he has secured $350 million to transition firefighting foams away from PFAS to safer alternatives.

secured $350 million to transition firefighting foams away from PFAS to safer alternatives

Source: Van Orden for Congress

What the record shows ·

The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 authorises “not more than $350,000,000 to carry out the PFAS replacement program”, which reimburses certificated airports for moving to approved fluorine-free firefighting foams at a 100 percent federal share. He voted Yea on House passage on July 20, 2023, which carried 351-69, and Yea on final passage on May 15, 2024, which carried 387-26. It became Public Law 118-63 the next day.

Sources: U.S. Government Publishing Office, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives

Limit: The figure is an authorisation ceiling — the most that may later be appropriated — rather than money appropriated. The programme is national and applies to airports holding a part 139 certificate, not specifically to Wisconsin. He was one of 387 members voting for it. The same $350,000,000 figure appears beside PFAS language in nine other public laws, all of them enacted before he took office on January 3, 2023, and none of those can be the one he means.

Derrick Van Orden

The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act

Matches stated record claim

What they say

His campaign says he championed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which was signed into law by President Trump and ensures children have access to whole milk.

championed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act which was signed into law by President Trump

Source: Van Orden for Congress

What the record shows ·

He was an original cosponsor of the House bill, H.R. 649, on January 23, 2025, one of 118 cosponsors. That bill never left the Union Calendar. The measure that became law was the Senate companion, S. 222, which became Public Law 119-69 on January 14, 2026.

Sources: Congress.gov, Congress.gov

Limit: The Act was signed into law, and he put his name to the House version on the day it was introduced. But the bill he cosponsored is not the bill that passed, and he was one of 118 cosponsors of it. A first check of this claim found the Act's name in no public law and would have called it false; the Senate bill had been enacted and not yet indexed, which is why the enacted text rather than the bill index settles it.

Derrick Van Orden

Classifying fentanyl-related substances

Matches stated record claim

What they say

His campaign says bringing together law enforcement leaders across the district led to his support for legislation that classifies fentanyl as a controlled substance.

his support for legislation that classifies fentanyl as a controlled substance

Source: Van Orden for Congress

What the record shows ·

He voted Yea on passage of S. 331, the HALT Fentanyl Act, on June 12, 2025, which carried 217-1. It became Public Law 119-26 on July 16, 2025. He had also voted Yea on the House companion, H.R. 27, on February 6, 2025, which carried 214-1 and went no further than the Senate.

Sources: Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, Congress.gov, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives

Limit: The Act makes the Schedule I treatment of fentanyl-related substances permanent. Fentanyl itself was already a controlled substance before it, so the claim is loosely worded even though the vote behind it is real. He was one of 217 members voting for it, and as with the whole-milk Act the measure that became law was the Senate bill rather than the House companion he also voted for.

Derrick Van Orden

The Dairy Business Innovation Act

Record does not bear out the claim

What they say

His campaign lists, among major wins for Wisconsin farmers, passing the Dairy Business Innovation Act to support the development, production, marketing and distribution of Wisconsin dairy products.

including passing the Dairy Business Innovation Act

Source: Van Orden for Congress

What the record shows ·

He sponsored a Dairy Business Innovation bill twice, H.R. 4894 in the 118th Congress and H.R. 985 in the 119th; each was referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry and went no further. Two of the three changes his bill would have made — raising the number of regional initiatives from three to four in both places the statute sets it — did pass the House, inside section 1015 of the 2026 farm bill, which he voted for on April 30, 2026. That bill has not become law. The third change, raising the authorisation from $20,000,000 to $36,000,000, is not in it. The initiative itself is section 12513 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, four years before he took office.

Sources: Congress.gov, Congress.gov, U.S. Government Publishing Office, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Government Publishing Office

Limit: The label rests on the words he used: the Act he names did not pass, and the vehicle that carries two thirds of it is not law either. But the distance between the claim and the record is narrower than a first pass found. This desk published this card citing only his two dead bills, which omitted that the operative text of one of them cleared the House inside the farm bill with his vote. Whether “passing the Dairy Business Innovation Act” is fairly called unsupported, given that, is a judgment the owner should make rather than this note.

Derrick Van Orden

Money for western Wisconsin drinking water

Matches stated record claim

What they say

His campaign says he has secured millions in funding to provide western Wisconsin with drinking water that is safe from contaminants.

secured millions in funding to provide western Wisconsin with drinking water that is safe from contaminants

Source: Van Orden for Congress

What the record shows ·

The final FY2024 Interior funding tables list the City of Eau Claire Water Treatment Project at $2,000,000 and the Town of Campbell Water Utility Project at $2,000,000, each naming Van Orden in the House requester column, alongside a third Wisconsin drinking-water project at $800,000 requested by him. His congressional office had announced the first two as requests in November 2023.

Sources: U.S. House of Representatives, Office of Rep. Derrick Van Orden

Limit: The tables establish that the money was appropriated and that he was the member who requested it. They do not establish that the water is now free of contaminants: an appropriation is not a finished treatment plant, and no source here shows when either project was built or what it delivered. This desk first published this card with no verdict, saying the settling evidence was not published anywhere it could cite. That was wrong. Community project funding is listed in the joint explanatory statement rather than in the law, and the statute and the Congressional Record were searched while the explanatory statement was not.

Rebecca Cooke

Service on the state economic development board

Matches stated record claim

What they say

Her campaign says she started a nonprofit that has helped over 70 small businesses create local jobs, and that she served on the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation board, aiding in the success of rural businesses.

she served on the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation board, aiding in the success of rural businesses

Source: Cooke for Congress

What the record shows ·

The Wisconsin State Legislature records the appointment: Rebecca Cooke, of Eau Claire, Private Sector Representative on the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, read and referred on February 8, 2019. The committee recommended confirmation on February 20, 2020 by Ayes 5, Noes 0. The Governor withdrew the appointment on October 13, 2021.

Sources: Wisconsin State Legislature

Limit: The state's record establishes that she held the seat and for how long. It records nothing about what she did in it, so the second half of her sentence — aiding the success of rural businesses — is not something this record can test either way. The nonprofit figure is separate and is not checked here.

Alexander Valiensi Kent

A campaign that takes no money

Matches stated record claim

What they say

His platform calls for ending political corruption rather than reducing it, through a system with no donors, no lobbyists, no Super PACs and no political parties, and he runs his own campaign on that basis.

no donors, no lobbyists, no Super PACs, and no political parties

Source: Voter Directed Network

What the record shows ·

His principal campaign committee holds two filings of any kind with the Federal Election Commission: a Form 1 statement of organization dated April 24, 2026, and a Form 99 dated July 8, 2026. That Form 99 is not a blank submission. It repeats the pledge to take no donor, lobbyist, Super PAC or party money, states that the campaign had not reached $5,000 raised or spent, and files that statement in place of a July quarterly report. No report of receipts and disbursements has ever been filed.

Sources: Federal Election Commission, Federal Election Commission

Limit: His own filed statement is stronger evidence than silence, and it is still not a reported zero: below five thousand dollars is not nothing, and the statement speaks only to July 8. What the record shows is his testimony and the absence of a financial report, not an audited figure.

Rustin Levem Provance

A campaign that takes no money

Matches stated record claim

What they say

His campaign site says he is running on faith and himself, that money should not buy elections, and that he will not be taking donations.

I will not be be taking donations

Source: Rustin Provance for Congress

What the record shows ·

His principal campaign committee holds three filings of any kind with the Federal Election Commission: Form 1 statements of organization dated December 7, 2023 and April 14, 2025, and a 2024 request for additional information. Across two cycles it has never filed a report of receipts and disbursements.

Sources: Federal Election Commission

Limit: Registering a committee and filing no report of receipts is consistent with raising nothing, but it is not the same as a filed statement that nothing was raised. What the record shows is the absence of a report, not a reported zero. The quotation reproduces his site's own wording, repeated word included.

Campaign finance

FEC snapshot through Jul 22, 2026

Principal campaign committees only. Receipts and disbursements are the election-cycle-to-date figures, Column B on each filing's summary page; cash on hand and debt are period-end figures. All are carried by reports covering the same period. Money is not a score of candidate quality or voter support.

CandidateCycle receiptsCycle disbursementsCash on handDebt owed
Derrick Van OrdenC00742007 filing$236,906$244,487$4,677,029$181,867
Rebecca CookeC00844993 filing$296,126$926,201$1,826,605$0
Read the filing details

Derrick Van Orden: Pre-Primary 2026, coverage Jul 1, 2026 to Jul 22, 2026, received Jul 30, 2026, file 2003094, image 202607309899247516.

Rebecca Cooke: Pre-Primary 2026, coverage Jul 1, 2026 to Jul 22, 2026, received Jul 30, 2026, file 2003110, image 202607309899249797.

Retrieved from OpenFEC on Sep 22, 2026. FEC amendments can revise these committee-reported figures.

Chronology

How the field took shape

  1. Van Orden's service begins

    Congress.gov records Van Orden's first term beginning with the 118th Congress on January 3, 2023. The date settles one of his claims: the $350 million figure he cites for moving firefighting foams off PFAS appears in eleven public laws, and nine of them were enacted before this day.

    Source: Congress.gov

  2. The firefighting-foam money is enacted

    The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 becomes Public Law 118-63, authorising not more than $350,000,000 for a programme that reimburses certificated airports for the transition to fluorine-free firefighting foams. Van Orden had voted for the bill at both House stages.

    Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives

  3. Van Orden's own bill becomes law

    The VA Home Loan Program Reform Act, which Van Orden introduced alone on March 3, 2025 and which passed both chambers by voice vote, becomes Public Law 119-31. It authorises the VA to pay a loan holder what is needed to avoid foreclosure and establishes a partial claim programme.

    Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office, Congress.gov

  4. The whole-milk bill is signed

    S. 222, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025, becomes Public Law 119-69. Van Orden was an original cosponsor of the House companion, H.R. 649, which never left the Union Calendar.

    Source: Congress.gov, Congress.gov

  5. Both filing campaigns report through July 22

    The two committees that file reports of receipts and disbursements lodge their pre-primary reports on the same day, covering July 1 to July 22, 2026. The other two printed candidates have registered principal campaign committees and have never filed such a report, in either cycle.

    Source: Federal Election Commission, Federal Election Commission, Federal Election Commission, Federal Election Commission

  6. The ballot is set

    The La Crosse County Clerk's official sample ballot for the November 3 election prints four candidates for this seat, plus an unnamed write-in line. Every candidate on this page is on that ballot, and nobody else is.

    Source: La Crosse County Clerk

Open the source drawer39 source records, reviewed Sep 22, 2026
  1. official election record
    Official sample ballot, Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District

    La Crosse County Clerk. The county's own sample ballot for the November 3, 2026 general election, metadata dated August 26, 2026. It prints four candidates for this seat and an unnamed write-in line.

  2. fec filing
    VAN ORDEN FOR CONGRESS, itemized receipts from political committees

    Federal Election Commission. Read from OpenFEC on 2026-09-22: all 1,158 itemized non-individual rows the FEC reports for the cycle, of which 1,110 carry a contributing-committee identifier and are grouped in the table. OpenFEC would not page through this committee at any page size — the second page returned a timeout every time — so it was read one month at a time and the total checked against the FEC's own count before anything was published. No individual contributor row was read.

  3. fec filing
    COOKE FOR CONGRESS, itemized receipts from political committees

    Federal Election Commission. Read from OpenFEC on 2026-09-22: all 14,228 itemized non-individual rows the FEC reports for the cycle, of which 14,222 carry a contributing-committee identifier and are grouped in the table. Read one month at a time and checked against the FEC's own count before anything was published. No individual contributor row was read.

  4. official legislative record
    FY2024 Interior joint explanatory statement, community project funding tables

    U.S. House of Representatives. The final funding tables accompanying the FY2024 Interior appropriation. Read on 2026-09-22: the drinking water state revolving fund rows list "City of Eau Claire for Water Treatment Project 2,000,000 Van Orden" and "Town of Campbell for Water Utility Project 2,000,000 Van Orden", with a third Wisconsin project at 800,000 also requested by him. Community project funding is listed here rather than in the statute, which is why searching the enacted law and the Congressional Record for these projects returns nothing.

  5. official legislative record
    H.R. 7567, as passed the House, section 1015

    U.S. Government Publishing Office. The 2026 farm bill as engrossed. Section 1015 amends section 12513 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 by striking "3" and inserting "4" in subsection (b) and in subsection (g)(1)(A) — the first two of the three clauses of Van Orden's own H.R. 985, word for word. His bill's third clause, raising the authorisation from $20,000,000 to $36,000,000, is not in it. Read from the GovInfo package text on 2026-09-22.

  6. official legislative record
    House roll call 154, 119th Congress, 2nd session

    Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. On passage of H.R. 7567, 2026-04-30. Passed 209-3. Van Orden voted Yea.

  7. official legislative record
    S. 331, HALT Fentanyl Act (119th Congress)

    Congress.gov. Read through the Congress.gov API on 2026-09-22. Became Public Law 119-26 on 2025-07-16. It makes permanent the Schedule I treatment of fentanyl-related substances; fentanyl itself was already controlled.

  8. official legislative record
    House roll call 166, 119th Congress, 1st session

    Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. On passage of S. 331, 2025-06-12. Passed 217-1. Van Orden voted Yea.

  9. official legislative record
    House roll call 33, 119th Congress, 1st session

    Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. On passage of H.R. 27, the House companion HALT Fentanyl Act, 2025-02-06. Passed 214-1. Van Orden voted Yea. The bill was received in the Senate and went no further; the Senate's own bill became law instead.

  10. fec filing
    ALEXANDER VALIENSI KENT FOR CONGRESS, Form 99 of July 8, 2026

    Federal Election Commission. A one-page miscellaneous submission for committee C00948240. It repeats his pledge to take no donor, lobbyist, Super PAC or party money, states the campaign had not reached $5,000 raised or spent, and files that statement in lieu of a July quarterly report. It is his own testimony, not an audited financial report.

  11. official office record
    Rep. Derrick Van Orden, member record

    Congress.gov. Read through the Congress.gov API on 2026-09-22. Records two terms for Wisconsin's 3rd district, the 118th beginning 2023 and the 119th beginning 2025, 62 sponsored and 719 cosponsored measures.

  12. candidate statement
    Van Orden for Congress, issues

    Van Orden for Congress. Captured 2026-09-22; 1,074 words. The campaign's own site, identified by its "Paid for by Van Orden for Congress" line. Note that derrickvanorden.com is a registrar parking page and is not this site.

  13. candidate statement
    Van Orden for Congress, home

    Van Orden for Congress. Captured 2026-09-22. Links the campaign's X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts.

  14. official office record
    Van Orden champions clean water funding for Wisconsin's third district in FY24

    Office of Rep. Derrick Van Orden. His congressional office's own account of two community project funding items requested in the FY2024 Interior appropriations bill: $2,000,000 for PFAS filtration equipment in Eau Claire and $2,000,000 for a new water system for the Town of Campbell. A request is what this source records; it is not an appropriation.

  15. candidate statement
    Cooke for Wisconsin, home

    Cooke for Congress. Captured 2026-09-22, identified by its "Paid for by Cooke for Congress" line. Carries her biography and links her X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts. Note that rebeccacooke.org is a registrar parking page and is not this site.

  16. candidate statement
    Cooke for Wisconsin, priorities

    Cooke for Congress. Captured 2026-09-22; 2,429 words across ten subject headings, the most detailed platform on any desk so far.

  17. official office record
    Executive appointment: Cooke, Rebecca

    Wisconsin State Legislature. The state's own record of the appointment: Rebecca Cooke, of Eau Claire, Private Sector Representative on the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, read and referred February 8, 2019; committee recommended confirmation February 20, 2020 by Ayes 5, Noes 0; withdrawn by the Governor October 13, 2021.

  18. candidate statement
    2026 Candidate for the U.S. House, Alexander Valiensi Kent

    Voter Directed Network. Captured 2026-09-22; 7,855 words. His own platform, in the form of a keynote address. Note that kentforcongress.com is a registrar parking page belonging to someone else and is not his site.

  19. candidate statement
    Voter Directed Network, home

    Voter Directed Network. Captured 2026-09-22; 1,499 words. The organisation he founded, which is also the vehicle his platform proposes.

  20. social profile
    Alexander Valiensi Kent, candidate entry

    PBS Wisconsin. Read 2026-09-22. Lists his campaign social media as a Facebook account, which his own site does not link. Used only to locate the profile.

  21. candidate statement
    Rustin Provance for Congress, home

    Rustin Provance for Congress. Captured 2026-09-22; ninety words and a slogan. Reading only this page is what produced a first, wrong finding that he had published no platform.

  22. candidate statement
    Rustin Provance for Congress, projects

    Rustin Provance for Congress. Captured 2026-09-22. His platform: policing, Social Security, the Federal Reserve, health care, nuclear testing, the Department of Education, term limits, taxation, the military, veterans and relations with native nations. The page is at /projects-1; /projects returns 404.

  23. candidate statement
    Rustin Provance for Congress, about

    Rustin Provance for Congress. Captured 2026-09-22. His biography in his own words. The page is at /about-1; /about returns 404.

  24. candidate statement
    Rustin Provance for Congress, get involved

    Rustin Provance for Congress. Captured 2026-09-22. Where he states that he will not take donations.

  25. social profile
    Rustin Provance for Congress on Facebook

    Facebook. Located by search on 2026-09-22, because his campaign site links no social accounts. A profile link is not a complete historical archive.

  26. official legislative record
    H.R. 1815, VA Home Loan Program Reform Act (119th Congress)

    Congress.gov. Read through the Congress.gov API on 2026-09-22. Introduced 2025-03-03 by Rep. Van Orden with no cosponsors; passed the House by voice vote 2025-05-19 and the Senate by voice vote 2025-07-15.

  27. official legislative record
    Public Law 119-31, VA Home Loan Program Reform Act

    U.S. Government Publishing Office. Enacted 2025-07-30. The Public Law summary records that it authorises the VA to pay a loan holder the amount needed to avoid foreclosure, establishes a partial claim programme, and temporarily raises amounts for transitional housing and supportive services for veterans experiencing homelessness.

  28. official legislative record
    H.R. 649, Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 (119th Congress)

    Congress.gov. Read through the Congress.gov API on 2026-09-22. Van Orden is one of 118 cosponsors and an original one, dated 2025-01-23. The bill itself went no further than the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 111, on 2025-06-05.

  29. official legislative record
    S. 222, Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 (119th Congress)

    Congress.gov. Read through the Congress.gov API on 2026-09-22. The Senate companion, and the measure that became Public Law 119-69 on 2026-01-14.

  30. official legislative record
    Public Law 118-63, FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024

    U.S. Government Publishing Office. Enacted 2024-05-16. Its text reads: "There is authorized to be appropriated not more than $350,000,000 to carry out the PFAS replacement program", which reimburses airports holding a part 139 operating certificate for the transition to approved fluorine-free firefighting foams, at a federal share of 100 percent. Read from the GovInfo package text on 2026-09-22.

  31. official legislative record
    House roll call 364, 118th Congress, 1st session

    Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. On passage of H.R. 3935, 2023-07-20. Passed 351-69. Van Orden voted Yea.

  32. official legislative record
    House roll call 200, 118th Congress, 2nd session

    Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. On the motion to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to H.R. 3935, 2024-05-15. Passed 387-26. Van Orden voted Yea. This is the vote that sent the bill to the President.

  33. official legislative record
    H.R. 985, to reauthorize the dairy business innovation initiatives (119th Congress)

    Congress.gov. Sponsored by Rep. Van Orden. Congress.gov summarises it as increasing the authorization of appropriations for the Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives and requiring a minimum of four regionally located initiatives instead of three. Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry; no further action.

  34. official legislative record
    H.R. 4894, to reauthorize the dairy business innovation initiatives (118th Congress)

    Congress.gov. His earlier bill on the same subject, also sponsored by him and also referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry with no further action.

  35. official legislative record
    Public Law 119-37, Continuing Appropriations and Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act

    U.S. Government Publishing Office. Read from the GovInfo package text on 2026-09-22. Under the Agricultural Marketing Service it provides that of the amounts made available, $13,750,000 shall carry out section 12513 of Public Law 115-334, "of which $11,250,000 shall be for dairy business innovation". Section 12513 is a provision of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.

  36. fec filing
    VAN ORDEN FOR CONGRESS, pre-primary report 2026

    Federal Election Commission. Read from OpenFEC on 2026-09-22. Unamended pre-primary report covering 2026-07-01 to 2026-07-22, file number 2003094, beginning image 202607309899247516, received 2026-07-30. Cash on hand and debt are period-end figures.

  37. fec filing
    COOKE FOR CONGRESS, pre-primary report 2026

    Federal Election Commission. Read from OpenFEC on 2026-09-22. Unamended pre-primary report covering 2026-07-01 to 2026-07-22, file number 2003110, beginning image 202607309899249797, received 2026-07-30. Cash on hand and debt are period-end figures.

  38. fec filing
    ALEXANDER VALIENSI KENT FOR CONGRESS, committee filings

    Federal Election Commission. Read from OpenFEC on 2026-09-22. His principal campaign committee holds two filings of any kind: a Form 1 statement of organization dated 2026-04-24 and a Form 99 miscellaneous submission dated 2026-07-08. No report of receipts and disbursements has ever been filed.

  39. fec filing
    RUSTIN PROVANCE FOR CONGRESS, committee filings

    Federal Election Commission. Read from OpenFEC on 2026-09-22. His principal campaign committee holds three filings of any kind: Form 1 statements of organization dated 2023-12-07 and 2025-04-14, and a 2024 request for additional information. No report of receipts and disbursements has ever been filed, across two cycles.

The details

Election facts. Original sources.

Election date
November 3, 2026
Launch rating
Cook Political Report: Toss Up; dated August 25, 2026
Ballot source updated
Sample-ballot metadata dated August 26, 2026; reviewed September 2, 2026.
Candidate field
Printed candidates checked against official election records.

Coverage

What this page includes, and what is not yet included.

As of Sep 23, 2026. Each area lists only what has passed its source check. How coverage works.

  • BallotIncluded

    4 printed candidates, checked September 2, 2026 against the official election record.

  • Race outlookPartial

    2 of 3 specialist ratings are current as of Sep 23, 2026. 1 stale rating stays visible with its date but is excluded from our analysis.

  • Reported contextIncluded

    1 dated development with original reporting attached.

  • Words and recordIncluded

    9 statement-to-action comparisons across 4 candidate records, each with a stated limitation.

  • Campaign financeIncluded

    FEC filing snapshots for 2 principal campaign committees, with a common coverage cutoff.

  • PollingNot yet

    No published poll has been reviewed for this race yet.

No correction has been recorded for this race. Report an error.