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Rebecca Cooke

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This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Rebecca Cooke
Democratic Party
Candidate, U.S. House Wisconsin District 3
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 5, 2024
Next election
November 3, 2026
Education
High school
Eau Claire North High School
Bachelor's
University of St. Thomas
Personal
Birthplace
Eau Claire, WI
Religion
Protestant
Profession
Small business owner
Contact
Campaign website
Campaign Facebook
Campaign X
Campaign Instagram
Campaign YouTube

Rebecca Cooke (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]

Cooke completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Rebecca Cooke was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Cooke's career experience includes working as a small business owner and waitress. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of St. Thomas.[1][2]

Elections

2026

See also: Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District election, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 3

The following candidates are running in the general election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 3 on November 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Derrick Van Orden
Derrick Van Orden (R)
Image of Emily Berge
Emily Berge (D) Candidate Connection
Image of Rebecca Cooke
Rebecca Cooke (D) Candidate Connection
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Rodney Rave (D)
Image of Rustin Provance
Rustin Provance (Independent)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Jayte Welch (Independent)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

Cooke received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Cooke's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

2024

See also: Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024

Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024 (August 13 Democratic primary)

Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024 (August 13 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 3

Incumbent Derrick Van Orden defeated Rebecca Cooke in the general election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 3 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Derrick Van Orden
Derrick Van Orden (R)
 
51.3
 
212,064
Image of Rebecca Cooke
Rebecca Cooke (D) Candidate Connection
 
48.6
 
200,808
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
309

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 413,181
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 3

Rebecca Cooke defeated Katrina Shankland and Eric Wilson in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 3 on August 13, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Rebecca Cooke
Rebecca Cooke Candidate Connection
 
50.5
 
42,316
Image of Katrina Shankland
Katrina Shankland Candidate Connection
 
41.6
 
34,812
Image of Eric Wilson
Eric Wilson Candidate Connection
 
7.9
 
6,624
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.0
 
24

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 83,776
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 3

Incumbent Derrick Van Orden advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 3 on August 13, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Derrick Van Orden
Derrick Van Orden
 
99.6
 
52,533
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.4
 
211

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 52,744
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Cooke received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Cooke's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here.

2022

See also: Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 3

Derrick Van Orden defeated Brad Pfaff in the general election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 3 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Derrick Van Orden
Derrick Van Orden (R)
 
51.8
 
164,743
Image of Brad Pfaff
Brad Pfaff (D)
 
48.1
 
152,977
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
202

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 317,922
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 3

Brad Pfaff defeated Rebecca Cooke, Deb McGrath, and Mark A. Neumann in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 3 on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Brad Pfaff
Brad Pfaff
 
38.9
 
24,041
Image of Rebecca Cooke
Rebecca Cooke Candidate Connection
 
31.1
 
19,221
Image of Deb McGrath
Deb McGrath Candidate Connection
 
19.1
 
11,770
Image of Mark A. Neumann
Mark A. Neumann Candidate Connection
 
10.8
 
6,672
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.0
 
25

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 61,729
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 3

Derrick Van Orden advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 3 on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Derrick Van Orden
Derrick Van Orden
 
99.3
 
65,164
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.7
 
471

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 65,635
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Rebecca Cooke completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cooke's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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  • Tackling the affordability crisis head-on with better wages, more economic opportunities and lower taxes for working families.
  • Making health care more affordable and more accessible.
  • Ending the culture of corruption in Washington.
The affordability crisis we’re facing is because of decades of inaction from politicians in Washington DC. I am running for Congress to better serve communities across Wisconsin, put people first and provide more opportunities for success, and will be a relentless fighter for our way of life.
I am proud to have earned the trust of everyday people throughout the 3rd District, including working families, small business owners, educators, healthcare workers, and farmers. I am also honored to be endorsed in this cycle by a number of labor unions including: IBEW Wisconsin State Conference, Laborers Intl. Union of America, SMART Union, UFCW Local 1743, IUPAT and IUPAT District Councils 7 and 82. Additionally the House Blue Dogs, New Dems and Emily’s List are backing my candidacy as well as Congressional leaders like Senator Baldwin, Senator Slotkin, Cong. Budzinski, Cong. Davids and Cong. Lee and over 15 other members of Congress.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2024

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia
Released July 10, 2024

Candidate Connection

Rebecca Cooke completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cooke's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

A small business owner, nonprofit leader and waitress, I have focused my career on building community and serving others. Born and raised on an Eau Claire dairy farm and appointed by Governor Tony Evers to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, I know the economic and social challenges facing the small towns and rural communities for which I’ve fiercely advocated for, from the kitchen table to the board room. I worked my way through college with the help of Pell Grants, local scholarships, financial aid, and multiple jobs. After helping elect changemakers to public office, I came home to Eau Claire to start a small business and a nonprofit that provides start-up capital and hands-on education for women-owned businesses throughout ten counties in western Wisconsin. Now, I am running for Congress to better serve communities across Wisconsin, put people first and provide more opportunities for success, and be a relentless fighter for our way of life.
  • Increasing Health Care Access and Affordability
  • Creating an Economy Built for Working Families
  • Protecting Reproductive Healthcare Freedoms
I am running for Congress to better serve communities across Wisconsin, put people first and provide more opportunities for success, and will be a relentless fighter for our way of life.
The late Senator Paul Wellstone. He embodied rural populism and crafted policy that met the moment with a laser focus on delivering for working families, our rural communities, and small businesses which power our economies.
My lived experiences are what uniquely suit me to serve in office. We have too many elitists in Congress, and not enough working folks that have lived the struggles that everyday people face making ends meet.

Even while I am running for Congress, I waitress three days a week and run my non-profit Red Letter Grant which supports and empowers women entrepreneurs throughout 18 counties here in West Central Wisconsin by awarding start-up capital. To date, we’ve helped over 50 small businesses launch in rural communities throughout the last seven years. I understand the needs of my community and working class folks because that is my lived experience.
I believe that the core responsibilities of a member of Congress are to enact effective and pragmatic legislation which addresses the material needs of the constituents they represent, and to be a responsive advocate for specific casework needs with federal agencies and other institutions.
My campaign has been endorsed by over two dozen local small business owners, multiple local elected officials, the House Blue Dogs Coalition, the New Democrats Coalition, Communication Workers of America – District 4, WelcomePAC, Congresswoman Sharice Davids, Congresswoman Marie Glusenkamp-Perez, Congressman Mike Thompson, Congressmen Jared Golden, Defend the Vote, and Tomorrow’s Jobs.
I’d like to serve on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Agriculture Committee. Growing up on a dairy farm and having run multiple small businesses, I can bring those experiences to the decision making table to advocate for family farms and mainstreets. For too long large agricultural conglomerates and large corporations have been price gouging consumers and leveraging their market share to engage in anti-competitive practices. It is past time that we had a Congress actively engaged in reducing the power of corporate monopolies and delivering for small businesses, working families, and small and midsize farms.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia
Released November 26, 2021

Candidate Connection

Rebecca Cooke completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cooke's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Rebecca Cooke is a small business owner and nonprofit leader who has focused her career on building community and serving others. Born and raised on an Eau Claire dairy farm and appointed by Governor Tony Evers to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, Rebecca knows the economic and social challenges facing the small towns and rural communities for which she’s fiercely advocated for, from the kitchen table to the board room.

Coming from a long tradition of Wisconsin farmers who value service and hard work, Rebecca was working on the farm at an early age and training calves to show at the fair by the time she was 7 years old. Like most Wisconsin farm families, it was a struggle to make ends meet, but they were the first to show up for neighbors in need. She was active in 4-H, showing cattle at fairs throughout the state, started waiting tables in high school, and launched a jelly business with her classmates at 16 years old.

Rebecca worked her way through college with the help of Pell Grants, local scholarships, financial aid, and multiple jobs. After helping elect Democrats to public office, she came home to Eau Claire to start a small business and a nonprofit that provides start-up capital and hands-on education for women-owned businesses throughout ten counties in western Wisconsin.
  • Washington politicians have turned their backs on rural Wisconsinites. For decades, they’ve overpromised and underdelivered on policy, while selling us off to the highest bidder. Family farms are closing daily, small businesses are hurting, and our rights are under attack. We deserve a Congresswoman who understands the struggles that Wisconsin families face firsthand each and every day and has the lived experience to restore hope, our shared sense of community, and real representation for the hardworking people who keep our country going.
  • To build a vibrant and healthy shared future in which everyone can prosper, we need to invest in our rural communities who for far too long have been left behind by the rich and powerful. Our friends, families, and neighbors are endlessly creative people who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and solve problems. Rebecca will advance solutions that lift up western Wisconsin and keep our local economy moving forward.
  • The kitchen table is often the nucleus of the home — where families come together to reflect on their days at school or work, do their homework, share a joke, and break bread. It is also where far too many spend long hours stressing late into the night over household bills. Across our region, families are working harder and harder these days just to make ends meet as the prices of everyday goods continue to go up while large corporations report record-breaking profits. There’s something wrong with this picture.
As a small business owner herself, Rebecca also knows the barriers facing entrepreneurs, including access to capital, predatory lending, bureaucratic red tape, and recruiting and retaining staff. The pandemic has only worsened these challenges as many local businesses have struggled to stay afloat or been forced to close permanently, underscoring the need for a strong voice in Congress who sees the bigger picture. Rebecca understands that small businesses are the backbone of our communities, and she will fight tooth and nail to make sure Main Street gets the resources needed to not just survive, but thrive.
Rebecca got her first job off the farm as a server at Mike’s Smokehouse when she was 16 years old. While at North High School in Eau Claire, she was captain of the soccer team, started a business that made and packaged jelly, and launched a project that gave financial support to soldiers coming home from the Iraq war called Relief for the Red Arrows.
I think we need leadership who understand kitchen table issues, because they have real lived experience. To me, being a US Congresswoman is about advocating for your community and I don't need previous government experience to do that.
I would love to join the Small Business Committee. As the owner of a small business, I understand the challenge of running a small business through COVID..
We need bi-partisan solutions to tackle the big challenges that this country faces.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Rebecca Cooke campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2026* U.S. House Wisconsin District 3Candidacy Declared general$2,904,379 $1,090,194
2024U.S. House Wisconsin District 3Lost general$6,358,059 $6,347,919
2022U.S. House Wisconsin District 3Lost primary$486,146 $486,146
Grand total$9,748,584 $7,924,258
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

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External links

Candidate

U.S. House Wisconsin District 3
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 15, 2024
    2. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 14, 2026


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