Wisconsin 3rd Congressional District primary election: Live results
Rebecca Cooke (left) and Emily Berge (right) (Supplied)
(FOX 9) - Voters in western and southwestern Wisconsin head to the polls Tuesday, Aug. 11, to choose their nominee for the state’s most competitive congressional district.
Wisconsin 3rd Congressional District primary election results
The Democratic primary contest features Rebecca Cooke, a business owner making her third consecutive run for the seat, and Emily Berge, a licensed counselor and former Eau Claire City Council president. The winner will advance to the November general election against incumbent Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who is unopposed in his primary.
Timeline:
Results will start coming in after polls close at 8 p.m. Find live results below.
Two candidates vying for Democratic nomination
What we know:
Cooke, 38, was raised on an Eau Claire County dairy farm. She previously opened a retail business in Eau Claire and a nonprofit that supports women entrepreneurs, and served on the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. board under Gov. Tony Evers. Cooke won the Democratic nomination in 2024 before losing narrowly to Van Orden in the general election. She previously finished second in the primary in 2022.
Berge, 46, is a licensed professional counselor who served eight years on the Eau Claire City Council, including the last three years as council president. She also served as president of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities and previously ran for the Wisconsin State Assembly.
Where they stand
By the numbers:
Cooke has a more moderate platform focused on improving the Affordable Care Act and improving rural access to healthcare, combating price gouging on gas prices and the grocery store, and increase funding for education.
Berge is considered the more progressive candidate, and supports Medicare for All, higher taxes on millionaires, campaign finance reform and a federal moratorium on new large-scale AI and data centers.
Competitive general election?
What's next:
The winner of Tuesday's primary will face incumbent Rep. Derrick Van Orden in what will likely be the most competitive Congressional race in the state.
The Cook Political Report rates the district as a "Toss Up" with an R+3 (meaning it leans slightly Republican) on its Cook Partisan Voting Index. In 2024, Donald Trump won the district by about seven percentage points, while Van Orden defeated Cooke by 2.7 points, or approximately 11,000 votes.
Local perspective:
Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District covers 19 counties in western and southwestern Wisconsin, including Eau Claire, La Crosse, Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids.
The Source: Information in this article comes from The Associated Press' election results and FOX 9 reporting.