LA CROSSE (WKBT) -- Rebecca Cooke has won the Democratic 3rd Congressional District primary.
The Associated Press called the race at 10:45 p.m. Cooke will run against Rep. Derrick Van Orden in November.
"I'm so ecstatic to have earned the support of people around the 3rd Congressional District and their vote of confidence in my ability to be able to deliver for them in November," Cooke said Tuesday night.
Cooke nearly swept the district's 19 counties. Katrina Shankland, who represented the Stevens Point area in the State Assembly for about a decade, was only able to win her home base counties of Portage and Wood.
The Eau Claire native Cooke ran for the seat in 2022 and surprised pundits with a strong second place primary finish to current State Sen. Brad Pfaff. This cycle, like her 2022 campaign, Cooke identified herself to voters as a political outsider who grew up on a dairy farm and understands the struggles of the working class.
Voters News 8 Now spoke with Tuesday said Cooke's hometown connections and policies like codifying Roe v. Wade and expanding health care access are what resonated with them.
"I just, I just feel like she really understands the people. and I feel like the plan of action she has is going to benefit us in the long run," one voter said.
Cooke said the campaign has plenty of work ahead, but she'll be knocking on doors and visiting communities all over the district to show why she's the best representative to be in D.C. making policies for working families.
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