Democrat Rebecca Cooke is campaigning across western Wisconsin’s fall festivals and parades, drawing enthusiastic in-person support as she rematches Rep. Derrick Van Orden in a competitive rural district. The race is shaped by economic anxiety — high costs, tariffs and fuel prices — and by escalating online tactics, including AI-generated deepfakes that Cooke’s campaign calls misleading. With the district a national tossup, both sides are investing heavily and competing over authenticity, data-center policy and who best represents Main Street voters.
In Rural Wisconsin, Face-to-Face Campaigning Persists as Online Tactics Turn Ugly
Democratic congressional candidate Rebecca Cooke chats with constituents at the Gays Mills Apple Festival in Gays Mills, Wisconsin, on September 27, 2026. Cooke is running against Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District.(Jenn Ackerman for The 19th)
La Crosse, Wisconsin — September in Wisconsin blends campaign season with parade season: Oktoberfests, apple festivals and small-town gatherings where voters and candidates still meet face-to-face. For Democrats in western Wisconsin, reactions along parade routes have become an informal barometer for how the November midterms might go.
Democratic nominee Rebecca Cooke spent a late-September weekend campaigning at La Crosse’s Oktoberfest and the Apple Festival in Gays Mills, an hour to the southwest. Wearing forest-green T-shirts that read 'Let Her Cooke,' her team shook hands, handed out literature and marched with state and local Democratic leaders. This year, crowds greeted her with cheers, frequent refusals of more literature because supporters said they’d already decided to vote for her, and occasional sharp condemnations of her Republican opponent, Rep. Derrick Van Orden.
Rebecca Cooke greets festivalgoers in Gays Mills, Wisconsin, on September 27, 2026.
Retail Campaigning Still Matters
Cooke is running a rematch against Van Orden in Wisconsin’s competitive 3rd Congressional District, a rural, Midwestern seat that once reliably backed Democrats before shifting right in recent presidential cycles. Democrats say the campaign’s retail strategy — listening at kitchen tables and on Main Streets — is paying off, especially as voters cite cost-of-living concerns, rising energy prices and frustration with national economic policy.
'I think the thing with this administration is they promised a lot of folks an America First agenda, and then this is the opposite of an America First agenda,' Cooke said after marching in La Crosse.
Local voters interviewed along parade routes repeatedly mentioned prices and gas as top concerns. Some blamed the current administration’s policies and military actions in the Middle East for higher fuel costs; others pointed to broader economic trends affecting farmers and small businesses.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden speaks during a press conference on September 24, 2026, in Menomonie, Wisconsin.
Controversy and Escalating Online Tactics
Van Orden, a former Navy SEAL seeking a third term, has been no stranger to controversy. Past incidents include a 2021 confrontation at a library over an LGBTQ+ display and a profane outburst at Senate pages in 2023. Critics and local groups — including the Wisconsin Muslim Alliance — have condemned remarks they view as inflammatory.
More recently, the race has moved online in troubling ways. Van Orden has posted AI-generated images and videos targeting Cooke. Her campaign says the content includes manipulated material designed to mislead voters and sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding the doctored material be removed. Van Orden’s campaign dismissed the request as a 'stunt' and posted additional AI-generated clips — including satirical images created with X’s Grok Imagine tool — fueling debate about deepfakes, disinformation and campaign ethics.
Cooke, a sixth-generation Wisconsinite who grew up on a family dairy farm in Eau Claire, worked in professional politics before returning home, where she started a small business and then a nonprofit focused on economic development and job creation — while also working part-time as a waitress.
Data Centers And A Broader Backlash
Another local flashpoint is data center construction. Cooke supports a federal moratorium on new data centers, tapping into bipartisan community concerns about local impacts. The issue has become prominent nationwide as some down-ballot Republicans embrace opposition to data centers while national GOP leaders have promoted them as part of an AI-driven economic future.
Who’s Watching This District
The 3rd District is rated a tossup and has drawn national attention and outside spending. Republicans have brought in cabinet members to stump for Van Orden; Democrats are banking on Cooke’s retail outreach and economic message to flip the seat. Cooke has won endorsements spanning the Democratic coalition — from progressives to moderate Blue Dog-aligned groups — a positioning she says helps broaden her appeal in swing areas.
Rebecca Cooke distributes campaign literature at the Gays Mills Apple Festival in Gays Mills, Wisconsin, on September 27, 2026.
Photo captions: Rebecca Cooke greets festivalgoers in Gays Mills on September 27, 2026. Rep. Derrick Van Orden at a press conference in Menomonie on September 24, 2026.
As November approaches, the race combines old-fashioned voter contact with new digital battlegrounds over authenticity and misinformation. Both campaigns are wagering that their version of the story — told on parade routes and on social platforms — will resonate with voters across western Wisconsin.
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