Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Katrina Shankland was defeated by local business owner Rebecca Cooke in Tuesday’s primary, There is a race to unseat Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden in November.
Van Alden, ex. SEALsThe seat was given to Republicans last year in a narrow victory over Democratic state Sen. Brad Pfaff after longtime Democratic incumbent Ron Kind chose not to seek re-election. Pfaff decided not to challenge Van Alden in 2024.
Before Van Alden won the seat in 2022, Wisconsin’s 3rd District had been represented by Kind for more than two decades.
The Democratic race eventually turned ugly between candidates Cook and Shankland. The Wisconsin Examiner reported that in the final days of the campaign, the election became “more intense as outside super PACs poured money into the campaign on Cook’s behalf and Shankland spoke out and touted her as a legislator author’s experience.
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Wisconsin State Capitol (Education Photo/Global Photo Group, Getty Images)
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“This is a huge shift in tone from the 2022 primary, and there could be a number of reasons for that,” University of Wisconsin-La Crosse political science professor Anthony Chergosky told the Examiner. I think one reason may be that Democrats are undoubtedly excited about the prospect of defeating Derek Van Orden, which means the chance to become the party’s standard bearer is a coveted opportunity, so Shankland and Cook have Leave the negative behind.
