Democrat Rebecca Cooke defeated incumbent U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden in western Wisconsin on Tuesday as Democrats were projected to win control of Congress by a wide margin.
Eleanor Powell, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor, said Democratic control of Congress will create a new dynamic for the rest of Donald Trump’s term.
“We’re going to see a pretty different dynamic in the rest of President Trump’s term,” Powell said. “We’re also likely to see a fair bit more congressional oversight of what the executive branch has been doing.”
Wisconsin’s 1st and 3rd congressional districts were both among the targets of national Democrats seeking to flip Republican-held seats, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee including both races in its “Red to Blue” program. The program provides selected candidates with additional financial and campaign resources.
Cooke was on pace to beat Van Orden by about 7 percentage points in a rematch in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District. Van Orden has faced multiple controversies and remained closely aligned with Trump throughout his campaign.
The district was represented by moderate Democrat Ron Kind for more than two decades before Van Orden was elected in 2022. Cooke previously challenged Van Orden in 2024 and lost by 3 percentage points.
U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil was trailing ER nurse Mitchell Berman in the 1st Congressional District as of 11 p.m. Tuesday.
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