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September 7th , 2024 Len’s Political Note #668 Rebecca Cooke Wisconsin 03
2024 General Election
Rebecca Cooke
First term Republican Congressman Derrick Van Orden has been among the most targeted Republican Members of Congress. Prior to Van Orden’s election, the district had been represented by a moderate Democrat – Ron Kind. Van Orden has been nothing like Kind. He began his term of office by attending the Donald Trump’s January 6 “Stop the Steal” rally. Another time, in the capitol building, he shouted at interns who were lying on the floor examining the capitol dome. In another incident of shouting at young people, he scolded a teenage library employee of a local Wisconsin library for a LGBTQ book display. At Joe Biden’s state of the union speech, he imitated South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson’s boorish attack on Barack Obama and shouted “lies” at the President.
In that undignified behavior, Rebecca Cooke saw an opportunity. She has said that voters from Wisconsin 03 are embarrassed by Van Orden’s behavior. Disappointed, too. She says that Van Orden is the only member of the Wisconsin delegation on the Agriculture Committee and he has been ineffective. Wisconsin needs a Representative who will get a farm bill passed.
Rebecca Cooke knows something about Wisconsin. She was born and raised on a dairy farm in Eau Claire. The family has deep roots in state. Chauncy Cooke was an abolitionist who joined the union army at the age of 16. She had family members who were in the service in World War I and World War II. Her grandfather was a marine in Korea; her father a medic at Walter Reed Hospital.
Her dad married the daughter of a dairy farmer and later took over the farm. Neither of her father’s children will continue the farm. His son came home from the Navy and eventually became a firefighter. His daughter went to college.
Rebecca Cooke demonstrated her bifurcated interests in high school. In addition to serving as captain of the soccer team, she began a little business packing and selling jellies and she created a kind of non-profit called Relief for the Red Arrows that provided financial support for those returning from the Iraq War. After graduating from the University of St. Thomas, a private Catholic school in St. Paul, Minnesota, she returned home having been particularly moved by a social justice program she became involved in. The program, brought the students to work along with members of various communities, helping the students to appreciate the demands and the dignity of work.
In 2015, Rebecca Cooke opened her business, Red’s Mercantile. The business sold locally-made when possible and always American made clothing and home goods. She closed the business in 2022 after coming in second in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin 03. In 2016, she created The Red Letter Grant, an organization built through fund raising which focused on directing the funds to assisting women entrepreneurs. Recognizing Rebecca Cooke’s efforts, Governor Tony Evers appointed her to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
Though she lost the 2022 primary, she returned to win the 2024 primary and is ready to win the general election. She has the support of the Blue Dog Coalition and, if elected, would join Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington and Mary Peltola of Alaska in the male-dominated Blue Dog group.
Notice her photograph and the names of her organizations. Rebecca Cooke is proud of her red hair. Make us all proud of her and help her win the general election in this district that stretches along the southern half of Wisconsin’s western border. DONATE. VOLUNTEER.
Other important Wisconsin races
The US Senate race is the big race in Wisconsin in 2024
Tammy Baldwin, grew up in Madison, raised mostly by her grandparents. She came out as a Lesbian in college and, like Ruben Gallego, is on the leftish side of the Democratic party. She is a particular advocate for the availability of health care and continues to be elected by Wisconsin voters.
Eric Hovde, chairman and CEO of the West Coast bank Sunwest and the owner of other banks as well as a Milwaukee-based real estate business founded by his grandfather, took his time before announcing that he would run. Shortly after his announcement, he made some rookie mistakes. It is not just that his bank was named as a co-defendant in an elder abuse lawsuit. Worse for him, he described nursing home residents as having a life expectancy of five or six months and as not being competent to vote. Less offensive, but equally inaccurate, he ascribed increases in the national debt to spending, without taking into account huge Republican tax cuts.
August polls showed Tammy Baldwin with leads of 6, 7, and 9 points. On July 24 she had $6.3 million in her official pocket. On the same date, Eric Hovde had $3.2 million in his official campaign fund and untold millions in his personal pocket which he may or may not be willing to spend. DONATE TO TAMMY BALDWIN. VOLUNTEER. Keep her in the lead. See Len’s Political Note #570
Wisconsin 01
Peter Barca represented Wisconsin 01 in 1993 – replacing Les Aspin who became Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Defense. Peter Barca lasted a term as Wisconsin 01, a rectangular district south of Milwaukee with Kenosha and Racine on the coast of Lake Michigan and Janesville marking the district’s western border, was becoming Republican territory. For 20 years, ultimately serving as Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential candidate, Paul Ryan represented the district.
Pete Barca came back. A former school teacher, he returned to state politics, to service as a state representative leading the fight against Governor Scott Walker and then as Governor Tony Evers’ Revenue Secretary. There are no polls for this race. Peter Barca, with $700,00 on July 24, has considerably fewer resources than the incumbent, Bryan Steil, with $4.7 million. DONATE. VOLUNTEER. Peter Barca could come back to the House if Wisconsin experiences a true Blue Wave. See Len’s Political Note #658
Wisconsin 08
Kristin Lyerly was only a thought as a candidate on March 31. She had raised no money. An obstetrician and a gynecologist, she is now the Democrat running to replace Incumbent Mike Gallagher who resigned from Congress in disgust with his party.
Gallagher, BA Princeton, PhD Georgetown and a former Marine intelligence officer, had criticized Trump for firing James Comey, rejected Trump’s denial of Russian interference in the election, and resigned after he was the decisive vote in rejecting the Republican effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. He delayed his resignation so he could vote in favor of aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
Kristin Lyerly was a plaintiff in the Wisconsin lawsuit that eventually kept abortion legal in the state. She had previously performed abortions in Wisconsin, but moved her practice to Minnesota after the US Supreme Court Hobbes decision. The special election will occur in November at the same time as the general election. In this Congressional race, abortion will be a key issue. There are no polls here. On July 24, Kristin Lyerly had $300,000. Tony Wied, the Republican primary winner sold his chain of gas stations to finance his race. He spent $600,000 on the primary (Kristin Lyerly spent $700,000 getting herself known). On July 24, he had $200,000. The money you give could make a difference for Kristin Lyerly in this race. DONATE. VOLUNTEER. This seat could get flipped.
WE HAVE A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TO WIN
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz
As we look toward November, 2024, we see a brand new campaign. The Democrats are leading in Wisconsin in late August polls by 5 or 6 points. That does not guaranty victory, but hard work in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania will pay off. So will resources.
Every donation, large or small, makes a difference. Larger donations mean more money for the campaign. But many in the media count the number of small donations as a measure of enthusiasm for the candidate. Make a small donation if you cannot afford a large one. DONATE TO KAMALA HARRIS AND TIM WALZ. VOLUNTEER
