U.S. House

Wisconsin
District 3

Election day: November 3, 2026

Four candidates are on the U.S. House ballot in Wisconsin's District 3.

Sabato's Crystal Ball: Toss-up

Ratings checked October 1, 2026

Updated October 22, 2026

At a glance

A quick look at the candidates

One stated goal, one checked action and the top committee funding for each candidate. Read the detailed guide for the rest.

What the funding line covers

Funding shows up to the two largest listed committee categories, without individual-donor conduit entries.

Record checked Oct 22, 2026. Money dates are shown separately.

Derrick Van Orden

Republican

One stated goal Safe drinking water, well-maintained roads and bridges, and reliable rural broadband for western Wisconsin.

One checked action Jul 20, 2023. Voted Yea on House passage of the FAA reauthorisation, which carried 351-69.

Campaign cash $4,677,029 on Jul 22, 2026, principal committee only.

Listed committee funding Transfers and contributions from joint fundraising committees: $2,088,471; Leadership PACs: $366,000.

Through July 22, 2026. Cash above has its own date.

Funding scope

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, except as passed through joint fundraising committees.

Rebecca Cooke

Democratic

One stated goal Cap out-of-pocket costs on insulin, inhalers and cancer drugs at thirty dollars a month, and expand Medicare to vision, dental and hearing.

One checked action Feb 8, 2019. 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.

Campaign cash $1,826,605 on Jul 22, 2026, principal committee only.

Listed committee funding Transfers and contributions from joint fundraising committees: $824,809; Leadership PACs: $163,500.

Through July 22, 2026. Cash above has its own date.

Funding scope

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, except as passed through joint fundraising committees.

Alexander Valiensi Kent

Independent

One stated goal Full voter empowerment: online, issue-by-issue voting by verified voters, on the principle of one voter, one vote, on all issues.

One checked action No official action is listed in this desk. The detailed guide explains the gap.

Campaign cash No campaign cash figure is included in this desk.

Listed committee funding No committee funding breakdown is included here.

Funding scope

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, in July, a Form 99 stating the campaign had not reached $5,000 raised or spent. It has never filed a report of receipts and disbursements, which is consistent with the no-donor campaign he says he is running.

Rustin Provance

Independent

One stated goal A two-term limit on legislators, matching the presidency, which he says he will hold himself to whether or not it is enacted.

One checked action No official action is listed in this desk. The detailed guide explains the gap.

Campaign cash No campaign cash figure is included in this desk.

Listed committee funding No committee funding breakdown is included here.

Funding scope

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.

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

Read the detailed guide, goals, actions and campaign funding

Voter guide

The candidates, side by side

Goals come from each campaign's own platform. Record lines are official actions.

How this guide is built

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; other memo entries, reimbursements, and receipts from organizations that are not political committees are excluded; each candidate's note gives the filings it covers, and some notes also compare the rows with the campaign's own 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.
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.
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.

What they say they want to do

Safe drinking water, well-maintained roads and bridges, and reliable rural broadband for western Wisconsin.
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.
Term limits on all legislators, so that election to Congress “remains an act of public service, not a way to enrich one's self”.
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.
Continued support for border enforcement and for legislation classifying fentanyl as a controlled substance.

What the official record shows

Jul 20, 2023 Voted Yea on House passage of the FAA reauthorisation, which carried 351-69.
May 15, 2024 Voted Yea on final passage of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which carried 387-26; the Act authorises not more than $350,000,000 for a programme moving airport firefighting foam off PFAS.
Feb 5, 2025 Introduced H.R. 985 to enlarge the Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives; it was referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry and went no further as a bill, as his earlier one had. Two of its three changes passed the House inside section 1015 of the 2026 farm bill, which he voted for on April 30, 2026 and which has not become law.
Jul 30, 2025 His own VA Home Loan Program Reform Act, which he introduced alone and which passed both chambers by voice vote, became Public Law 119-31.
Jan 14, 2026 The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act became Public Law 119-69; he was an original cosponsor of the House companion, one of 118.

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

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.
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.
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.

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.
Ban stock trading by members of Congress and the White House, and end Citizens United.
Raise the federal minimum wage to fifteen dollars on a rolling schedule beginning with the largest employers.
Enforce antitrust law against agricultural conglomerates, direct subsidies to small and midsize farms, and protect farmland from purchase by foreign nationals.
A moratorium on new hyperscale data centre development and an end to its tax breaks, which she ties to rising utility rates.

What the official record shows

Feb 8, 2019 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.
Feb 20, 2020 The committee recommended confirmation of that appointment, Ayes 5, Noes 0.
Oct 13, 2021 The Governor withdrew the appointment, ending her service on the board.

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

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.
He founded the Voter Directed Network, which is both the organisation behind his candidacy and the mechanism his platform proposes.

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.
Ending political corruption rather than reducing it, through a system with “no donors, no lobbyists, no Super PACs, and no political parties”.
Servant leadership, which he defines as a commitment to help the people served become freer, wiser, healthier and more capable than before.

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.

Campaign money from other committees, by type

Source: Federal Election Commission

Rustin 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.
Since his release he has earned an HVAC-R certificate through trade school and moved to Wisconsin; he describes a family of seven.
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.

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.
Ending the Federal Reserve and its fiat currency, with the currency backed by tangible goods instead.
Dismantling the Department of Education, with funding following home-schooled children and any surplus going toward college.
Accountability for judges and prosecutors, and term limits on the Supreme Court, while distinguishing individual officers from a system he says is broken.
Stronger relations with native nations, which he describes as poor at best, and steady rather than swinging military funding.

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.

Campaign money from other committees, by type

Source: Federal Election Commission

Race outlook

How an approved rating source sees this race

Categories are ordered judgments, not win probabilities. A rating appears only when that publisher allows the use.

Sabato's Crystal BallToss-up
Sabato's Crystal Ball assessed this Sep 29, 2026; checked Oct 1, 2026.

Sabato's Crystal Ball allows this rating to be used with credit, so their name and date stay on the row. A Stated Record comparison is added only when two or more approved ratings are current. The rule is in Methodology.

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.

Latest record

Updates to this race desk.

Public statementPublished Oct 22, 2026

Three Wisconsin 3rd District forum claims checked

From the October 20 Eau Claire Area Chamber forum. Derrick Van Orden's votes for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, passed in 2026, match the House record. His claim to have worked to get Workforce Pell Grants through matches in direction: he voted for the 2025 law that created them, a vote on the whole bill. Rebecca Cooke's claim that she has taken no money from AIPAC matches the FEC reports of AIPAC's PAC through September 30, 2026.

Named in this record: Derrick Van Orden, Rebecca Cooke

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

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

Public profiles

X @RebeccaForWIPublic profile linked by the campaign site. A profile link is not a complete historical archive.
Facebook Cooke-for-Congress-291391109320335Public profile linked by the campaign site. Post availability and account metadata can change.
Instagram @cookeforcongressPublic profile linked by the campaign site. Post availability and account metadata can change.

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

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 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

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 was confirmed through the campaign site unless a note says otherwise.

How social posts are used

Individual social posts enter the evidence record only with a post URL, date, context, and review note.

Issue comparison

What each campaign says

Each campaign's own positions, not promises The Stated Record has verified or endorsed.

Money and power in Washington

Van Orden's campaign backs term limits; Cooke's backs a stock-trading ban for Congress and the White House and ending Citizens United. Kent's would remove political donors, lobbyists, Super PACs and parties; Provance's backs a two-term limit and says he takes no donations. FEC records checked September 22, 2026 list no financial report for Kent or Provance, which is not a reported zero. Kent's July 8 filing says he stayed under $5,000.

What each campaign says

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”.

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”.

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.

Rustin 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”.

Health care

Van Orden's campaign backs repealing Obamacare for a more competitive system protecting pre-existing conditions. Cooke's campaign backs a $30 monthly cost cap on insulin, inhalers and cancer drugs, and Medicare vision, dental and hearing coverage. Kent's platform lists no health care position on the pages checked; Provance's would remove federal control over health care. On the record, Van Orden voted for the HALT Fentanyl Act, which permanently controls fentanyl-related drugs; fentanyl itself was already controlled.

What each campaign says

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”.

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.

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.

Rustin 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.

Farms and dairy

Van Orden's campaign cites dairy-business and whole-milk legislation. Cooke's backs farm antitrust action and tax breaks for smaller farms; Kent's and Provance's list no farm position on the pages checked. Parts of Van Orden's dairy bills passed the House in a farm bill that is not law. He cosponsored the House whole-milk bill; the Senate version became law. The tax law he backed raised the 2026 estate-tax exemption to $15 million per person, shared with lifetime taxable gifts; it did not repeal the tax.

What each campaign says

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.

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.

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.

Rustin Provance

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

Clean water and PFAS

Van Orden's campaign says he secured millions for drinking water and $350 million to replace PFAS firefighting foam. Cooke's campaign backs PFAS testing, cleanup and research; Kent's and Provance's campaigns list no water position on the pages checked. On the record, Van Orden voted for a law with up to $350 million for airports nationwide, not money set aside. Three water projects he requested got funding, two at $2 million each; results are not shown.

What each campaign says

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.

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.

Alexander Valiensi Kent

No position on water quality is stated.

Rustin 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.

Veterans

Van Orden's campaign says he fought veteran foreclosures with the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act. Cooke's and Kent's campaigns list no position on this topic on the pages checked; Provance's backs steady military funding and says veterans will get the resources they need. On the record, Van Orden was the act's sole sponsor; both chambers passed it by voice vote, and it became law in July 2025. Its effect on foreclosures is not shown.

What each campaign says

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.

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.

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.

Rustin 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.”

Costs and the rural economy

Van Orden's campaign backs the Working Family Tax Cuts. Cooke's backs a $15 minimum wage and rural housing grants; Kent's lists no economic position, while Provance's would end the Federal Reserve. Van Orden voted for the housing law enacted in 2026 and the broader 2025 law creating Workforce Pell Grants. Those votes do not establish housing-cost effects or his individual contribution. State records confirm Cooke's economic-development board appointment history, without showing its results.

What each campaign says

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.

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.

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.

Rustin 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.”

Words and record

Where statements meet official action

Each card sets one thing a candidate says beside their own official record, with one label from a fixed list and its limit. No card says why someone did something.

How the cards work

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.

Derrick Van Orden

Federal worker union order

Matches stated record claim

What they say

At the October 20 forum, Van Orden said he voted against the President's order on public-sector unions.

What the record shows · Dec 11, 2025

He voted for H.R. 2550 to cancel the order; it passed the House 231-195 in December 2025 but has not become law.

Read the full check

Quotes, full record and limits

What they say

At the October 20 forum, Van Orden said he voted against the President's order on public-sector unions.

What the record shows · Dec 11, 2025

He cosponsored H.R. 2550 to cancel the March 27, 2025 order and voted for it on December 11. It passed 231-195, with 20 Republicans voting yes.

Limit: His vote was on a bill, not the order itself. The order affects federal agencies, not all public-sector unions; the bill is not law.

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.

What the record shows · Jul 30, 2025

He was its only sponsor, both chambers passed it by voice vote, and it became law in July 2025.

Read the full check

Quotes, full record and limits

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”

What the record shows · Jul 30, 2025

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.

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.

What the record shows · May 16, 2024

He voted for the 2024 FAA law allowing up to $350 million for airports nationwide to replace PFAS foam, a cap on future funding rather than money set aside.

Read the full check

Quotes, full record and limits

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”

What the record shows · May 16, 2024

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.

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.

What the record shows · Jan 14, 2026

He was one of 118 cosponsors of the House version, but the bill signed into law in January 2026 was the Senate version.

Read the full check

Quotes, full record and limits

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”

What the record shows · Jan 14, 2026

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.

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.

What the record shows · Jul 16, 2025

He voted for the 2025 HALT Fentanyl Act, which made permanent the Schedule I treatment of fentanyl-related drugs; fentanyl itself was already controlled.

Read the full check

Quotes, full record and limits

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”

What the record shows · Jul 16, 2025

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.

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”

What the record shows · Apr 30, 2026

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.

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 narrow: the operative text of one of his bills cleared the House inside the farm bill with his vote.

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.

What the record shows · Mar 4, 2024

2024 funding tables list $2 million each for Eau Claire and Town of Campbell water projects he requested, plus $800,000 for a third; results are not shown.

Read the full check

Quotes, full record and limits

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”

What the record shows · Mar 4, 2024

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.

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. Community project funding is listed in the joint explanatory statement rather than in the law itself.

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.

What the record shows · Feb 8, 2019

State records show she was appointed in 2019, recommended for confirmation in 2020 and withdrawn in 2021; what she did on the board is not recorded, and the nonprofit figure is not checked.

Read the full check

Quotes, full record and limits

What they say

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

What the record shows · Feb 8, 2019

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.

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.

What the record shows · Jul 8, 2026

His only FEC filings are a registration and a July 2026 statement repeating the pledge and saying he had not reached $5,000; he has filed no money report.

Read the full check

Quotes, full record and limits

What they say

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

What the record shows · Jul 8, 2026

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.

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 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.

What the record shows · Apr 14, 2025

His committee has registered with the FEC but never filed a report of money raised or spent, which fits raising nothing but is not a reported zero.

Read the full check

Quotes, full record and limits

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”

What the record shows · Apr 14, 2025

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.

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.

Derrick Van Orden

The 2026 housing law

Matches stated record claim

What they say

At the October 20 Eau Claire Area Chamber forum, Van Orden said Congress had just passed a 2026 housing act he called the Road to Homeownership 2026 Act, and later the Road to Housing Act of 2026, which he said cuts regulations to lower the cost of building a home.

What the record shows · Jun 23, 2026

He voted yes in February and on the final House vote in June 2026; it became Public Law 119-101.

Read the full check

Quotes, full record and limits

What they say

What the record shows · Jun 23, 2026

The law is the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, H.R. 6644. He voted Yea when the House first passed it on February 9, 2026, 390-9 (Roll Call 57), and Yea on the final House vote on June 23, 2026, 358-32 (Roll Call 224), which sent it to the President. It became Public Law 119-101.

Limit: He named it differently; the law's own short title is the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. He was one of 358 members voting for the final version. His description of what it does, including cost figures for building a house, was not checked.

Derrick Van Orden

Workforce Pell Grants

Matches stated direction

What they say

At the October 20 Eau Claire Area Chamber forum, Van Orden said that he and others worked hard to get Workforce Pell Grants through, so that people who want to work with their hands can.

What the record shows · Jul 3, 2025

He voted for the 2025 tax and spending law that created them, at both House votes; the votes were on the whole bill.

Read the full check

Quotes, full record and limits

What they say

At the October 20 Eau Claire Area Chamber forum, Van Orden said that he and others worked hard to get Workforce Pell Grants through, so that people who want to work with their hands can.

What the record shows · Jul 3, 2025

Workforce Pell Grants are section 83002 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, H.R. 1, which became Public Law 119-21. He voted Yea on House passage on May 22, 2025, 215-214 (Roll Call 145), and Aye on the final House vote on July 3, 2025, 218-214 (Roll Call 190).

Limit: His votes are on the whole bill, not on the Pell section alone. How hard he worked on it is not something the record shows.

Rebecca Cooke

Money from AIPAC

Matches stated record claim

What they say

At the October 20 Eau Claire Area Chamber forum, Cooke said she has not taken any money from AIPAC, because she does not want to be beholden to special interests.

What the record shows · Sep 30, 2026

AIPAC's PAC reports no payment to her campaign from 2023 through September 2026; spending by other AIPAC-linked groups is not covered.

Read the full check

Quotes, full record and limits

What they say

At the October 20 Eau Claire Area Chamber forum, Cooke said she has not taken any money from AIPAC, because she does not want to be beholden to special interests.

What the record shows · Sep 30, 2026

AIPAC's political action committee reports to the FEC what it pays out. From January 1, 2023 to September 30, 2026, covering her 2024 and 2026 races, those reports list no payment of any kind to her campaign committee, Cooke for Congress, memo entries included.

Limit: This covers money AIPAC's PAC paid or passed to her committee through September 30, 2026. It does not cover spending by other groups tied to AIPAC that is not given to a campaign, such as super PAC ads, and it cannot rule out gifts from individuals who also support AIPAC. Her no corporate PAC pledge, made in the same answer, was not checked here.

Derrick Van Orden

The 2025 estate-tax change

Record does not bear out the claim

What they say

Van Orden said the 2025 law got rid of the death tax so farms could pass between generations.

What the record shows · Jul 3, 2025

He voted for H.R. 1. It raised the 2026 exemption to $15 million per person; the estate tax remains.

Limit: The exemption is shared with lifetime taxable gifts. We did not count affected Wisconsin farms.

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.

Candidate	Cycle receipts	Cycle disbursements	Cash on hand	Debt owed
Derrick Van OrdenC00742007	$236,906	$244,487	$4,677,029	$181,867
Rebecca CookeC00844993	$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

Jan 3, 2023
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.
May 16, 2024
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.
Jul 30, 2025
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.
Jan 14, 2026
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.
Jul 30, 2026
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.
Aug 26, 2026
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.

The details

Election facts. Original sources.

Election date: November 3, 2026
Added: September 2026 launch set
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 Nov 10, 2026. Only what passed a source check is listed. How coverage works.

BallotIncluded
4 printed candidates, checked September 2, 2026 against the official election record.
Race outlookIncluded
1 of 1 specialist rating is current as of Nov 10, 2026.
Reported contextIncluded
1 dated development with original reporting attached.
Words and recordIncluded
14 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.

Sources61 source records

Snapshot as of Nov 10, 2026. The live page may have changed: https://statedrecord.com/races/wisconsin-us-house-03-2026

How we use sources

La Crosse County Clerk official sample ballot (document)
Official sample ballot, Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District
La Crosse County Clerk · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
official election record
For: Election facts, ratings and race context; Comparisons, reporting, support and chronology
How these races were chosenhttps://statedrecord.com/methodology#race-selection
For: Election facts, ratings and race context
Sabato's Crystal Ball ratingshttps://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/2026-house/
For: Election facts, ratings and race context
Wisconsin Public Radiohttps://www.wpr.org/news/cooke-wins-3rd-congressional-district
For: Election facts, ratings and race context
Rep. Derrick Van Orden, member recordhttps://www.congress.gov/member/derrick-van-orden/V000135
Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
official office record
For: Candidate roles and profiles; Derrick Van Orden: background, goals, record and money; Comparisons, reporting, support and chronology
Van Orden for Congress, issueshttps://vanordenforcongress.com/issues/
Van Orden for Congress · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
candidate statement
For: Candidate roles and profiles; Derrick Van Orden: background, goals, record and money; Money and power in Washington; Health care; Farms and dairy; Clean water and PFAS; Veterans; Costs and the rural economy; Derrick Van Orden: Protecting veterans from foreclosure; Derrick Van Orden: $350 million to move firefighting foam off PFAS; Derrick Van Orden: The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act; Derrick Van Orden: Classifying fentanyl-related substances; Derrick Van Orden: The Dairy Business Innovation Act; Derrick Van Orden: Money for western Wisconsin drinking water
Cooke for Wisconsin, homehttps://cookeforwisconsin.com/
Cooke for Congress · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
candidate statement
For: Candidate roles and profiles; Rebecca Cooke: background, goals, record and money; Veterans; Rebecca Cooke: Service on the state economic development board
2026 Candidate for the U.S. House, Alexander Valiensi Kenthttps://www.voterdirectednetwork.com/alexanderkent
Voter Directed Network · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
candidate statement
For: Candidate roles and profiles; Alexander Valiensi Kent: background, goals, record and money; Money and power in Washington; Health care; Farms and dairy; Clean water and PFAS; Veterans; Costs and the rural economy; Alexander Valiensi Kent: A campaign that takes no money
Alexander Valiensi Kent, candidate entryhttps://pbswisconsin.org/candidate/alexander-valiensi-kent/
PBS Wisconsin · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
social profile
For: Candidate roles and profiles
Rustin Provance for Congress, abouthttps://rustinforcongress.wixsite.com/website/about-1
Rustin Provance for Congress · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
Captured 2026-09-22. His biography in his own words. The page is at /about-1; /about returns 404.
candidate statement
For: Candidate roles and profiles; Rustin Provance: background, goals, record and money
Rustin Provance for Congress on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/61590917901907/
Facebook · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
Located by search on 2026-09-22, because his campaign site links no social accounts. A profile link is not a complete historical archive.
social profile
For: Candidate roles and profiles
Rustin Provance for Congress, homehttps://rustinforcongress.wixsite.com/website
Rustin Provance for Congress · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
candidate statement
For: Candidate roles and profiles; Farms and dairy
House roll call 364, 118th Congress, 1st session (document)
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
On passage of H.R. 3935, 2023-07-20. Passed 351-69. Van Orden voted Yea.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: background, goals, record and money; Derrick Van Orden: $350 million to move firefighting foam off PFAS
House roll call 200, 118th Congress, 2nd session (document)
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: background, goals, record and money; Derrick Van Orden: $350 million to move firefighting foam off PFAS; Comparisons, reporting, support and chronology
Public Law 118-63, FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/PLAW-118publ63
U.S. Government Publishing Office · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: background, goals, record and money; Derrick Van Orden: $350 million to move firefighting foam off PFAS; Comparisons, reporting, support and chronology
H.R. 985, to reauthorize the dairy business innovation initiatives (119th Congress)https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/985
Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: background, goals, record and money; Derrick Van Orden: The Dairy Business Innovation Act
H.R. 4894, to reauthorize the dairy business innovation initiatives (118th Congress)https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/4894
Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: background, goals, record and money; Derrick Van Orden: The Dairy Business Innovation Act
H.R. 7567, as passed the House, section 1015https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-119hr7567eh/html/BILLS-119hr7567eh.htm
U.S. Government Publishing Office · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: background, goals, record and money; Derrick Van Orden: The Dairy Business Innovation Act
House roll call 154, 119th Congress, 2nd session (document)
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
On passage of H.R. 7567, 2026-04-30. Passed 209-3. Van Orden voted Yea.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: background, goals, record and money; Derrick Van Orden: The Dairy Business Innovation Act
Public Law 119-31, VA Home Loan Program Reform Acthttps://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/PLAW-119publ31
U.S. Government Publishing Office · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: background, goals, record and money; Derrick Van Orden: Protecting veterans from foreclosure; Comparisons, reporting, support and chronology
H.R. 1815, VA Home Loan Program Reform Act (119th Congress)https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1815
Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: background, goals, record and money; Derrick Van Orden: Protecting veterans from foreclosure; Comparisons, reporting, support and chronology
S. 222, Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 (119th Congress)https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/222
Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: background, goals, record and money; Derrick Van Orden: The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act; Comparisons, reporting, support and chronology
H.R. 649, Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 (119th Congress)https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/649
Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: background, goals, record and money; Derrick Van Orden: The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act; Comparisons, reporting, support and chronology
VAN ORDEN FOR CONGRESS, itemized receipts from political committeeshttps://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?committee_id=C00742007&two_year_transaction_period=2026&is_individual=false
Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
fec filing
For: Derrick Van Orden: background, goals, record and money
Executive appointment: Cooke, Rebeccahttps://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/misc/appointments/inactive/executive_appointment/14848
Wisconsin State Legislature · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
official office record
For: Rebecca Cooke: background, goals, record and money; Rebecca Cooke: Service on the state economic development board
Cooke for Wisconsin, prioritieshttps://cookeforwisconsin.com/priorities/
Cooke for Congress · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
Captured 2026-09-22; 2,429 words across ten subject headings, the most detailed platform on any desk so far.
candidate statement
For: Rebecca Cooke: background, goals, record and money; Money and power in Washington; Health care; Farms and dairy; Clean water and PFAS; Veterans; Costs and the rural economy
COOKE FOR CONGRESS, itemized receipts from political committeeshttps://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?committee_id=C00844993&two_year_transaction_period=2026&is_individual=false
Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
fec filing
For: Rebecca Cooke: background, goals, record and money
Voter Directed Network, homehttps://www.voterdirectednetwork.com/
Voter Directed Network · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
Captured 2026-09-22; 1,499 words. The organisation he founded, which is also the vehicle his platform proposes.
candidate statement
For: Alexander Valiensi Kent: background, goals, record and money; Health care; Clean water and PFAS; Costs and the rural economy
ALEXANDER VALIENSI KENT FOR CONGRESS, committee filingshttps://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00948240/?cycle=2026
Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
fec filing
For: Alexander Valiensi Kent: background, goals, record and money; Alexander Valiensi Kent: A campaign that takes no money; Comparisons, reporting, support and chronology
ALEXANDER VALIENSI KENT FOR CONGRESS, Form 99 of July 8, 2026 (document)
Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
fec filing
For: Alexander Valiensi Kent: background, goals, record and money; Alexander Valiensi Kent: A campaign that takes no money
RUSTIN PROVANCE FOR CONGRESS, committee filingshttps://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00859504/?cycle=2026
Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
fec filing
For: Rustin Provance: background, goals, record and money; Rustin Provance: A campaign that takes no money; Comparisons, reporting, support and chronology
Rustin Provance for Congress, projectshttps://rustinforcongress.wixsite.com/website/projects-1
Rustin Provance for Congress · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
candidate statement
For: Rustin Provance: background, goals, record and money; Money and power in Washington; Health care; Farms and dairy; Clean water and PFAS; Veterans; Costs and the rural economy
Rustin Provance for Congress, get involvedhttps://rustinforcongress.wixsite.com/website/get-involved
Rustin Provance for Congress · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
Captured 2026-09-22. Where he states that he will not take donations.
candidate statement
For: Rustin Provance: background, goals, record and money; Money and power in Washington; Rustin Provance: A campaign that takes no money
Eau Claire Area Chamber forum, October 20: Van Orden on the federal union orderhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sCa_4llPFE&t=1387s
WEAU · Published Oct 20, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 22, 2026
23:07. Paraphrased from YouTube's captions of the station's video; no second transcript was found to confirm the exact words.
candidate statement
For: Derrick Van Orden: Federal worker union order
Roll Call 332, H.R. 2550, on passagehttps://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025332
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Published Dec 11, 2025 · Reviewed Oct 22, 2026
Recorded vote of December 11, 2025 (231 to 195), read from the Clerk's roll-call XML by member ID V000135: Yea. Twenty Republicans voted Yea.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: Federal worker union order
H.R. 2550, Protect America's Workforce Act (119th Congress)https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2550
Congress.gov · Reviewed Oct 22, 2026
Read through the Congress.gov API and the GovInfo engrossed text on 2026-10-22. Sponsored by Rep. Jared Golden; Van Orden is a cosponsor, not an original one, and no cosponsor has withdrawn. Section 2 says the March 27, 2025 executive order "Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs" shall have no force or effect. No law on record.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: Federal worker union order
House roll call 166, 119th Congress, 1st session (document)
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
On passage of S. 331, 2025-06-12. Passed 217-1. Van Orden voted Yea.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: Classifying fentanyl-related substances
S. 331, HALT Fentanyl Act (119th Congress)https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/331
Congress.gov · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: Classifying fentanyl-related substances
House roll call 33, 119th Congress, 1st session (document)
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: Classifying fentanyl-related substances
Public Law 119-37, Continuing Appropriations and Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Acthttps://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/PLAW-119publ37
U.S. Government Publishing Office · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: The Dairy Business Innovation Act
FY2024 Interior joint explanatory statement, community project funding tables (document)
U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: Money for western Wisconsin drinking water
Van Orden champions clean water funding for Wisconsin's third district in FY24https://vanorden.house.gov/media/press-releases/van-orden-champions-clean-water-funding-wisconsins-third-district-fy24
Office of Rep. Derrick Van Orden · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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.
official office record
For: Derrick Van Orden: Money for western Wisconsin drinking water
Eau Claire Area Chamber forum, October 20: Van Orden on the housing acthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sCa_4llPFE&t=1432s
WEAU · Published Oct 20, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 22, 2026
23:52, and again at 32:11. Paraphrased from YouTube's captions of the station's video; no second transcript was found to confirm the exact words.
candidate statement
For: Derrick Van Orden: The 2026 housing law
Roll Call 57, H.R. 6644, on passage as amendedhttps://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202657
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Published Feb 9, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 22, 2026
Motion to suspend the rules and pass, as amended, February 9, 2026 (390 to 9), read from the Clerk's roll-call XML by member ID V000135: Yea.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: The 2026 housing law
Roll Call 224, H.R. 6644, final House votehttps://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2026224
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Published Jun 23, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 22, 2026
Motion to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the House amendment to the Senate amendment, June 23, 2026 (358 to 32), read from the Clerk's roll-call XML by member ID V000135: Yea.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: The 2026 housing law
H.R. 6644, 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (119th Congress)https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6644
Congress.gov · Reviewed Oct 22, 2026
Read through the Congress.gov API and the GovInfo enrolled text on 2026-10-22. Sponsored by Rep. French Hill. Section 1: "This Act may be cited as the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act". Became Public Law 119-101.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: The 2026 housing law
Eau Claire Area Chamber forum, October 20: Van Orden on Workforce Pell Grantshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sCa_4llPFE&t=1225s
WEAU · Published Oct 20, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 22, 2026
20:25. Paraphrased from YouTube's captions of the station's video; no second transcript was found to confirm the exact words.
candidate statement
For: Derrick Van Orden: Workforce Pell Grants
Roll Call 145, H.R. 1, on passagehttps://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025145
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Published May 22, 2025 · Reviewed Oct 22, 2026
Recorded vote of May 22, 2025 (215 to 214), read from the Clerk's roll-call XML by member ID V000135: Yea.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: Workforce Pell Grants; Derrick Van Orden: The 2025 estate-tax change
Roll Call 190, H.R. 1, on concurring in the Senate amendmenthttps://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025190
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Published Jul 3, 2025 · Reviewed Oct 22, 2026
Recorded vote of July 3, 2025 (218 to 214), read from the Clerk's roll-call XML by member ID V000135: Aye. This vote sent the bill to the President.
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: Workforce Pell Grants; Derrick Van Orden: The 2025 estate-tax change
Public Law 119-21 (H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act)https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/PLAW-119publ21
U.S. Government Publishing Office · Reviewed Oct 22, 2026
Read from the GovInfo package text on 2026-10-22. Contains "SEC. 70106. EXTENSION AND ENHANCEMENT OF INCREASED ESTATE AND GIFT TAX EXEMPTION AMOUNTS" and "SEC. 83002. WORKFORCE PELL GRANTS".
official legislative record
For: Derrick Van Orden: Workforce Pell Grants; Derrick Van Orden: The 2025 estate-tax change
Eau Claire Area Chamber forum, October 20: Cooke on AIPAC moneyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sCa_4llPFE&t=1092s
WEAU · Published Oct 20, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 22, 2026
18:12. Paraphrased from YouTube's captions of the station's video; no second transcript was found to confirm the exact words.
candidate statement
For: Rebecca Cooke: Money from AIPAC
AIPAC's political action committee, payments to Cooke for Congresshttps://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?committee_id=C00797670&recipient_committee_id=C00844993&two_year_transaction_period=2024&two_year_transaction_period=2026
Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Oct 22, 2026
Read from OpenFEC on 2026-10-22: Schedule B of committee C00797670 (American Israel Public Affairs Committee Political Action Committee) to committee C00844993, 2024 and 2026 cycles, January 1, 2023 to September 30, 2026. Zero rows, memo entries included, and the PAC's filed reports cover the whole window.
fec filing
For: Rebecca Cooke: Money from AIPAC
Eau Claire Area Chamber forum, October 20: Van Orden on the death taxhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sCa_4llPFE&t=486s
WEAU · Published Oct 20, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 22, 2026
8:06. Paraphrased from YouTube's captions of the station's video; no second transcript was found to confirm the exact words.
candidate statement
For: Derrick Van Orden: The 2025 estate-tax change
Estate Tax: filing thresholds and taxable giftshttps://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/estate-tax
Internal Revenue Service · Reviewed Oct 22, 2026
The 2026 table lists $15 million. Lifetime taxable gifts enter the estate-tax calculation before the available unified credit.
official office record
For: Derrick Van Orden: The 2025 estate-tax change
VAN ORDEN FOR CONGRESS, pre-primary report 2026https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00742007/?cycle=2026
Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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. Committee C00742007; Pre-Primary 2026; coverage 2026-07-01 to 2026-07-22; received 2026-07-30; file 2003094; image 202607309899247516.
fec filing
For: Comparisons, reporting, support and chronology; Campaign finance
COOKE FOR CONGRESS, pre-primary report 2026https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00844993/?cycle=2026
Federal Election Commission · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
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. Committee C00844993; Pre-Primary 2026; coverage 2026-07-01 to 2026-07-22; received 2026-07-30; file 2003110; image 202607309899249797.
fec filing
For: Comparisons, reporting, support and chronology; Campaign finance
Van Orden for Congress, homehttps://vanordenforcongress.com/
Van Orden for Congress · Reviewed Sep 22, 2026
Captured 2026-09-22. Links the campaign's X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts.
candidate statement
For: Race desk evidence
Our claim page: Van Orden on the 2026 housing lawhttps://statedrecord.com/claims/wisconsin-us-house-03-2026/vanorden-road-to-housing
For: Three Wisconsin 3rd District forum claims checked
Our claim page: Van Orden on Workforce Pell Grantshttps://statedrecord.com/claims/wisconsin-us-house-03-2026/vanorden-workforce-pell
For: Three Wisconsin 3rd District forum claims checked
Our claim page: Cooke on AIPAC moneyhttps://statedrecord.com/claims/wisconsin-us-house-03-2026/cooke-no-aipac-money
For: Three Wisconsin 3rd District forum claims checked
WEAU 3rd Congressional District forumhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sCa_4llPFE
For: Three Wisconsin 3rd District forum claims checked

A quick look at the candidates

Who is running?

The candidates, side by side

Background

What they say they want to do

What the official record shows

Campaign money from other committees, by type

Background

What they say they want to do

What the official record shows

Campaign money from other committees, by type

Background

What they say they want to do

What the official record shows

Campaign money from other committees, by type

Background

What they say they want to do

What the official record shows

Campaign money from other committees, by type

How an approved rating source sees this race

The race in context

Updates to this race desk.

Three Wisconsin 3rd District forum claims checked

The field, without the campaign gloss

What each campaign says

Where statements meet official action

FEC snapshot through Jul 22, 2026

How the field took shape

Van Orden's service begins

The firefighting-foam money is enacted

Van Orden's own bill becomes law

The whole-milk bill is signed

Both filing campaigns report through July 22

The ballot is set

Election facts. Original sources.

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