Wisconsin Democrats Savage Each Other in Congressional Primary

When Rebecca Cooke announced she was running for congress as a Democrat in Wisconsin’s 3^rd District against Republican Derrick Van Orden, she seemed to have a lot going for her.

Cooke portrayed herself as just the girl next door who grew up on a dairy farm and worked as a waitress. Meanwhile, Congressman Mark Pocan (D-Madison) supplemented this wholesome image by relentlessly attacking Van Orden in the press and on social media. However, there was a lot more to Cooke’s backstory than the public realized. It turned out she was a longtime Democrat operative who had worked on congressional campaigns around the country for over a decade. She had forged some strong relationships during that time that would translate into third-party support during her own run for congress.

Then Democrat State Senator Katrina Shankland decided she also wanted to try her luck against Van Orden and entered the primary. Shankland supposedly became the target of some vicious third-party attack ads on behalf of Cooke. Democrats decried the introduction of “dark money” in the race against a fellow Democrat, while Shankland released her own attack ads.

And Cooke's allies responded in kind.

It was then revealed that Cooke's ads were funded by a “blue dog” Democrat group and by a pro-Israeli PAC. Pocan immediately turned on Cooke and began attacking both her and Van Orden.

Shanklin Piled on.

Even Gov. Evers’ staff is picking sides.

All that pressure from Wisconsin’s Democrat establishment might not matter in the end, however. Wisconsin Politics reports that the polls have Cooke leading Shanklin by 19 points, but with 33 percent of surveyed Democrats saying they were undecided. The primary election is on Aug. 13^th, and absentee ballots are already being cast.