Wisconsin 3rd District Voter Guide: Van Orden, Cooke, Kent and Provance on Health Care and the Economy
Four candidates are on the Nov. 3 ballot in Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission's candidates-on-ballot list: Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, Democrat Rebecca Cooke and independents Alexander Kent and Rustin Provance. The Digital Free Press voter guide video compares where they stand on health care and the economy.
The district covers western Wisconsin, including Eau Claire, La Crosse and the Driftless Area, according to Wikipedia's summary of the district. Van Orden, a retired Navy SEAL, won the seat in 2022 and was reelected in 2024 with 51.4 percent of the vote over Cooke, according to Wikipedia's summary of the results. This is Cooke's second straight race against him, the Wisconsin Examiner reported.
Why Health Care and the Economy Are Issues in Wisconsin's 3rd District
The Cook Political Report rates the race Lean Democratic in its Oct. 23, 2026 ratings. Sabato's Crystal Ball also rates it Lean Democratic, as of Oct. 20, according to Wikipedia's ratings table. The only public polls found were sponsored by Democratic groups; the most recent, by FM3 Research in June, found Cooke at 50 percent and Van Orden at 46 percent, according to Wikipedia's poll table.
Cooke has pointed to recent hospital closures in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls. In a Wisconsin Watch candidate questionnaire, she said that in parts of the district "the nearest hospital with labor and delivery services is more than 40 minutes away."
On health care, the TDFP video says Van Orden "voted for a three-year ACA subsidy extension and the 2025 Medicaid cut law" and "backs Wisconsin Medicaid funding." It says Cooke "would expand Medicare to dental, vision, and hearing and raise rural provider reimbursement rates." It says Kent "would let voters decide federal funding, subsidies, and privatization through online issue voting," and that Provance "would require health coverage for medical staff and refund 75% of premiums if insurance goes unused."
On the economy and spending, the video says Van Orden "would cut federal spending and regulation, unleash domestic energy, and extend the 2017 tax cuts." It says Cooke "would cut waste and small business red tape with middle-class tax relief and higher taxes on wealthy." It says Kent "would give voters control of the federal budget to address increasingly unaffordable necessities," and that Provance "would push states to require balanced budgets and reduce politicians' pay and benefits."
Derrick Van Orden (Republican, Incumbent)
On health care, Van Orden voted in January for a three-year extension of the Affordable Care Act's enhanced premium tax credits, siding with Democrats, WPR reported. He also voted for the 2025 budget law that included Medicaid changes. "To be clear, I voted to extend the Obamacare subsidies," he said at an Oct. 22 candidate forum, according to WEAU's transcript. "I do not associate myself with reducing Medicare and Medicaid. I want to make sure it's protected completely."
On the economy, Van Orden's House website says "the broken budget process in Washington has made it incredibly difficult to identify areas of wasteful and duplicative spending," and it highlights the 2025 tax law's loosening of federal regulations. At the forum, he defended that law, which he called the Working Families Tax Cuts: "We got rid of the death tax so one generation can hand the farm off to another generation without having to pay the federal government money on that land."
Rebecca Cooke (Democrat)
Cooke, of Colfax, is a waitress, small business owner and nonprofit founder who grew up on a dairy farm, according to her USA TODAY Network candidate questionnaire.
On health care, Cooke told Wisconsin Watch: "In Congress, I'll work to expand Medicare to cover vision dental & hearing, create pipeline programs to bolster our healthcare workforce, increase Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates to keep our rural hospitals and clinics open." Her campaign website also calls for capping out-of-pocket costs for drugs like insulin at $30 a month.
On the economy, her website calls for cutting "red tape around permitting and licensing to make it easier to start or grow a business" and expanding small-business tax credits. She says her platform is focused "on putting money in the pockets of working families and retirees — not the ultra wealthy or monopoly-like corporations." At the forum, she said Social Security's payroll-tax cap should be lifted so "people who are higher earners are paying their fair share."
Alexander Kent (Independent)
Kent, 35, of La Crosse, is a social worker, the author of "Voter Directed Democracy" and founder of the Voter Directed Network, an app through which he says verified voters would vote issue by issue, according to his USA TODAY Network questionnaire.
On health care and the economy, Kent said his model is "one voter, one vote on all issues": he would vote the way his district's voters decide, including on federal spending. "No family should be pushed toward poverty because the basic cost of being alive became unaffordable," he said. "I support targeted assistance and subsidies that lower the costs of food, health care, housing, energy, child care and transportation."
Rustin Provance (Independent)
Provance, 45, of Pepin, is a licensed heating and cooling technician, according to his USA TODAY Network questionnaire. He says he would serve one term.
On health care, Provance said in his answer to Wisconsin Watch: "I would write and push a bill that would require medical facility providers to have healthcare for staff in order to run any healthcare facility in the nation." He also said he would propose requiring "insurance companies to return 75% of the last fiscal year healthcare payments" to consumers who do not use their health insurance that year.
On the economy, Provance said he favors "little to no pay for Congress members," "removing retirement" for them and "pushing states to put a balanced budget clause into their state constitutions."
Where to Follow the Candidates
Derrick Van Orden: @derrickvanorden on X. Rebecca Cooke: @RebeccaForWI on X and cookeforwisconsin.com. Alexander Kent: the Voter Directed Network. Rustin Provance: @Rustin_Provance on X.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Wisconsin voters can check their registration and polling place at myvote.wi.gov. This guide is for information only; The Digital Free Press does not endorse any candidate.
Yossi Schmidt, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Digital Free Press
Hold Everyone Accountable.
Sources: Wisconsin Elections Commission, candidates on ballot: https://elections.wi.gov/ ; Wisconsin Watch voter guide, Rustin Provance: https://voterguide26.wisconsinwatch.org/candidate/r-provance1/ ; Wisconsin Watch voter guide, Rebecca Cooke: https://voterguide26.wisconsinwatch.org/candidate/r-cooke1/ ; USA TODAY Network candidate questionnaire, Wisconsin's 3rd District: https://www.stevenspointjournal.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/10/15/november-2026-election-wisconsin-3rd-congressional-district-candidates/92110606007/ ; WEAU, full transcript of Oct. 22 candidate forum: https://www.weau.com/2026/10/22/full-transcript-video-3rd-congressional-district-candidate-forum/ ; WPR, Van Orden on ACA subsidy extension: https://www.wpr.org/news/van-orden-sides-with-democrats-on-aca-subsidy-extension-vote ; Rep. Van Orden, economy: https://vanorden.house.gov/issues/economy ; Cooke for Wisconsin, priorities: https://cookeforwisconsin.com/priorities/ ; Wisconsin Examiner (Oct. 14, 2026): https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2026/10/14/cooke-tries-to-pick-off-rural-votes-in-second-effort-to-flip-wisconsins-3rd-congressional-district/ ; Cook Political Report House ratings: https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/house-race-ratings ; Wikipedia, 2026 U.S. House elections in Wisconsin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections_in_Wisconsin
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