Senator Baldwin Campaigns with Rebecca Cooke in Eau Claire

Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin visited Eau Claire this week to campaign with Third Congressional District candidate Rebecca Cooke.

Speaking to volunteers at Cooke’s campaign office in downtown Eau Claire on Thursday, Senator Baldwin emphasized the importance of flipping the Third Congressional District. She also painted incumbent Republican Congressman Derrick Van Orden as one of the deciding votes in support of things like the One Big Beautiful Bill and harmful tariff policies, accusing him of choosing to stand with President Donald Trump instead of working class Wisconsinites.

“Derrick Van Orden is standing with the President and ignoring our constitution and the laws of this nation,” she said. “Trade wars, tariffs, the things have made everything more expensive. For all of us as consumers, as people who fill up the gas tank, who go to the grocery store, and particularly for our farmers who have to fill the tank with diesel of a combine that takes 200 gallons at a time. Or that have to find fertilizer when the Strait of Hormuz, through which most of it travels, is closed.”

Senator Baldwin and Cooke also campaigned together in the 2024 election, in which Senator Baldwin defeated her Republican challenger Eric Hovde but Cooke fell short against Congressman Van Orden. Speaking to supporters on Thursday, Cooke said she’s working to emulate the way Senator Baldwin campaigns in an effort to build a wider base in the district with support from across the political spectrum.

“She is someone that has won tough elections time and time again because she is out in rural communities,” she said. “She is out talking to working class voters, she is out talking to independents and Republicans, and she is building a big tent. And she is someone that I work to emulate in the way that I campaign and meeting people where they’re at. And I think that’s important in a time where a lot of folks are feeling forgotten and a lot of people are feeling left behind.”

Cooke also highlighted her efforts to connect with more university and technical college students ahead of the November midterm election.