U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican candidate for Wisconsin governor in the Nov. 3 election, voted last November for the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial on charges of serial sex trafficking of women and girls.
Some 3.5 million pages were released in January. Efforts are underway to force the release of more.
Tiffany’s Democratic opponent, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, claimed in an Oct. 20 ad that Tiffany “voted to block the release of the Epstein files.”
That July 2025 vote was not up or down on releasing the files.
Tiffany votedno on a procedural measure related to a Democratic attempt to attach an amendment to an unrelated cryptocurrency bill. Voting yes could have led to a vote on requiring the files’ release.
This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
For 26 years, Wisconsin’s Driftless Area was represented in Congress by a moderate Democrat. Through multiple presidencies, including President Donald Trump’s first administration, Ron Kind was considered to be one of the most bipartisan House members and was easily reelected.
Now the 3rd Congressional District is one of the biggest battlegrounds in the nation.
Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden was first elected in 2022 after Kind retired and has held the seat since. He’s now seeking a third term.
Van Orden has shown a fiery reputation in Congress, faced some controversies and been an ardent Trump supporter. But this will be his first election as an incumbent where the odds aren’t in the GOP’s favor, particularly with Trump’s approval rating polling at a historic low. Despite that, Van Orden has continued to align with the president throughout his reelection campaign.
Democrats, after losing the House in 2022, are heavily targeting the district. In a rematch, Democrat Rebecca Cooke is challenging Van Orden for the seat after losing by 3 points last election.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has put the 3rd District, along with the 1st in southeastern Wisconsin, on its “Red to Blue” list. The program provides candidates with organizational and fundraising support.
Kind, who has endorsed Cooke, told Wisconsin Watch he believes Van Orden “can’t afford to have any degree of separation” from Trump because the president is a large part of his political success. But in the current political climate, that could also be a liability for the 26-year Navy veteran.
“People are beginning to realize what this guy is all about back home and the fact that he’s not making their lives any easier by supporting the president’s policies,” Kind said.
Kind won some of his last few elections by substantial margins, winning by 13 points in 2014, unopposed in 2016 and almost 20 percentage points in 2018. In 2020, though, Kind defeated Van Orden by less than 3 points. In 2022, national Democrats weren’t targeting the open seat and canceled its ad spending for the district, according to WPR. That year, Van Orden defeated state Sen. Brad Pfaff by just under 4 percentage points.
Democratic polls show Cooke ahead of Van Orden by up to 4 points. A Republican poll in September showed Van Orden leading by 5 points.
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse political science professor Anthony Chergosky said GOP candidates faced a strategic choice with their campaigns this year.
“Are they going to double down on Trumpism in a bid to motivate the president’s supporters, or are they going to try to open up some daylight between them and the president?” Chergosky said.
Van Orden’s strategy of sticking with Trump, Chergosky said, is likely a move to lean into the president’s heavy supporters to carry him to reelection. He said many voters were highly motivated in 2016, 2020 and 2024 simply because Trump’s name was on the ballot, but those same voters didn’t turn out as much when Trump wasn’t on the ballot. Over 95,000 more votes were cast in the race for the 3rd Congressional District in the 2024 presidential election than in the 2022 midterm.
The district voted for Trump all three times he ran, even when Kind won in 2016 and 2020, so Van Orden’s presidential ties might help bring out those voters again.
“There’s something that’s sorely lacking in this political business and it’s loyalty,” Van Orden told The Associated Press before the GOP midterm convention in August. “I think we’d be a lot better off if we were more loyal to our fellow Americans to begin with.”
Van Orden’s campaign spokesperson did not respond to requests for an interview for this story.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, one of the most liberal members of the Senate who won Wisconsin’s Democratic presidential primary in 2016, joined Cooke at a rally in Eau Claire on Sunday.
“In my view, this is the most important midterm election in the modern history of our country,” Sanders said. “What Rebecca’s race is about and the reason that I am here is that the time is long overdue for us to hold the most dangerous president in the history of the United States accountable.”
He applauded Cooke for her working class background as a waitress and emphasized the importance of that representation in Congress.
Candidates take starkly different positions on issues
Van Orden and Cooke overlap on few issues that have been part of Trump’s first term. Those differences were clear when they met Oct. 20 for their first and only debate and sparred over the economy, immigration, health care and the war in Iran.
Cooke said she would not have supported Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act and criticized it for giving “billionaires tax breaks and tax credits.” The tax incentives on average benefited higher earners rather than lower earners, according to the Tax Policy Center.
“Big corporations and the ultra wealthy should be paying their fair share of taxes,” Cooke said.
Van Orden touted the act and how its changes led to an influx of revenue for BadgerCare, the state’s form of Medicaid. The act, however, made $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid overall through mandatory work requirements for able-bodied adults and tighter caps on provider taxes.
He also criticized Cooke for not condemning unauthorized immigrants who commit violent crimes. She said they should be deported and the border should be secure. She also said she does not support sanctuary cities, but affirmed that there should be a “clear pathway to citizenship” and acknowledged immigrant contributions to the workforce.
According to an April 2023 study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison School for Workers, unauthorized immigrants alone make up an estimated 46% to 70% of the dairy farmers in the state. Van Orden has emphasized in his campaign his support for Trump’s immigration policies, which have emphasized large-scale deportations and rolling back authorized immigration.
Political campaign signs for Republican state Sen. Howard Marklein, Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden and Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor, are displayed along a stretch of U.S. 18 in Bridgeport, Wis., on Sept. 30, 2026. (Brittany Carloni / Wisconsin Watch)
Political campaign signs for candidates including 3rd Congressional District candidate Rebecca Cooke sit in the Crawford County Democratic Party office in Prairie du Chien, Wis., on Sept. 30, 2026. (Brittany Carloni / Wisconsin Watch)
Cooke said one of the first things she would like to see in Congress is ending the war in Iran, which Van Orden has voted against ending. While he said he does not inherently want to be at war, he said it’s the only way “radical Muslim mullahs” will listen.
“I know about war. I spent my entire adult life either training for war, training others for war or a war myself. I do not want our country to be involved in war,” Van Orden said. “We tried diplomacy. We tried sanctions, upped them again and again and again, and these radical muslim mullahs don’t respond to that … they only respond to this horrible thing that is war.”
Cooke, a waitress and former political consultant, wants to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, address teacher shortages with pay increases and signing bonuses, change the school funding formula to give more funding to low-income districts and double Pell college grants for low- to moderate-income families. She also advocates for expanding Medicare to dental, hearing and vision coverage and protecting abortion rights.
Rebecca Cooke, the Democratic nominee for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, speaks to reporters outside of Sen. Brad Pfaff’s annual corn roast at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, Wis., on Sept. 2, 2026. (Brittany Carloni / Wisconsin Watch)
One of the few issues that Van Orden and Cooke seem to agree on is supporting agriculture and dairy farms. Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District ranked 17th in the nation in 2022 for most farm producers at 31,470. Both Van Orden and Cooke have promised to support the state’s agriculture system and dairy farms. Cooke wants to ensure tax incentives and subsidies for small farms, expand export markets and fight big agriculture to support small farmers.
As for data centers, Van Orden wants local communities to decide on new developments and to protect farmland and water resources. He has co-sponsored the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act, which would ensure ratepayers aren’t forced to pay new energy bills required by large data centers. Cooke wants a moratorium on new developments and to end the tax breaks given to data centers, but data center laws are largely up to state and local governments.
National polarization and negativity
Similar to their first matchup two years ago, Van Orden and Cooke continue their heated rivalry in the high-stakes election. Van Orden has posted AI-generated fake videos of Cooke on social media, making it seem like she was saying she was the “anointed one” and that voters will “comply” and vote for her. She sent him a cease-and-desist letter in September and boosted a citizen complaint filed Oct. 22 with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.
Cooke told Wisconsin Watch the district is looking for a “representative that’s rooted in reality” and focused on issues rather than making these deepfakes. She called for more AI regulation for campaigns in the future.
Chergosky said it’s unclear how the AI deepfake issue will play out and what voters think about this new territory.
Van Orden and Cooke also have been trying to undercut each other’s authenticity in their campaigns. Van Orden has slammed Cooke for portraying herself as a political outsider while working as a Democratic fundraiser and political consultant for controversy-courting Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad. She also has worked with the center-left think tank Third Way.
Van Orden also has found himself in controversies throughout the years, including inflammatory social media posts and his presence in Washington during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots. In 2023 he scolded teenage Senate pages and in 2021 accosted a Prairie du Chien library worker over an LGBTQ+ book display.
Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who represents western Wisconsin, speaks with attendees during the World Dairy Expo, Oct. 2, 2025, at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)
Cooke blasted how Van Orden has never held an in-person town hall throughout his time in Congress, as well as his support for Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran.
“His devotion to this administration is greater than his devotion to people in this district,” Cooke said. “I think it’s a mistake on his part, but it’s like a blind loyalty that he has to the president.”
Kind said Van Orden has “insulated” himself from his constituents, and Pfaff told Wisconsin Watch that Van Orden has been at the “beck and call” of the White House and has “never had any original thought.”
“I do not believe he has a vision,” Pfaff said. “I don’t believe, deep down, he has a fundamental understanding of what this district is, who the people are in this district and what it would take in order to work the public, private effort in order to continue to move this area forward.”
Kind was noted for being one of the more bipartisan members of Congress, ranking 17th most bipartisan in the House in his last congressional session, according to The Lugar Center’s bipartisanship index.
Van Orden ranked 138th most bipartisan in his first year in office and the second-most bipartisan House member representing Wisconsin, behind former Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher at 33rd. The least bipartisan from Wisconsin was Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is now running for governor, in 379th place.
What’s different this year?
Given the rematch, 2024 and 2026 look very similar. Both years, the district was heavily targeted and categorized a toss-up, but one thing remains largely different: It’s not a “Trump year.”
This is the first year since 2020, when Van Orden lost and Joe Biden narrowly won the state, when he is running in a likely poor year for Republicans. In 2022, Democrats controlled the White House — historically the president’s party has fared worse in midterms. In 2024, Trump narrowly won Wisconsin. Now, with a Republican president, Democrats are favored to flip some seats and take back Congress.
Whichever party comes out of November with control of Congress will “profoundly influence the final two years of Trump’s presidency,” Chergosky said.
“In 2022, it was about Republicans trying to gain control of Congress. In 2024, Republicans were trying to retain control,” Chergosky said, “and now, Democrats are trying to get it back … this could be one of the decisive seats in a high-stakes race for Congress.”
Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.
When Mitchell Berman received an email from Elon Musk asking him to justify his job as a front-line emergency room nurse at the Department of Veterans Affairs, he began thinking more seriously about how he could make a difference beyond the hospital.
The email came as the Department of Government Efficiency, commonly referred to as DOGE, began making cuts and hiring freezes in spring 2025. More than a year later, Berman is still working emergency room shifts, but is now campaigning as the Democratic challenger to four-term Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District.
“I kind of realized if we really wanted to help improve things for folks, not even just at the VA, but for people in our communities, it was going to take somebody from the ground floor standing up and fighting for it,” Berman said.
The southeastern district is emerging as an unexpected battleground as Democrats look to capitalize on a shifting political environment and political newcomer Berman attempts to unseat Steil, who has represented the district since 2019.
Recent polling from Democratic-aligned organizations shows a close race, leading to increased national attention and campaign spending. Democrats point to dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump’s policies and congressional Republicans’ continued support of them as reasons the traditionally Republican district could be more competitive, while Steil noted he has faced significant Democratic spending in the district before and has continued to win.
“We’ve seen national Democrats spend millions of dollars in southeast Wisconsin before,” Steil said. “My strategy remains the same: Go speak directly to voters about the issues that are in front of us, and we have ultimately been successful in earning the support of the majority of voters four times in a row in the southern part of the state.”
About 38% of registered Wisconsin voters approve of Trump’s job performance, according to a Sept. 30 Marquette Law School Poll.
An Oct. 3 poll conducted by Democratic-aligned House Majority PAC showed Berman leading Steil 48% to 47% among likely voters. The poll also found 56% of respondents viewed Trump unfavorably. A Sept. 29 poll from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) found the candidates tied at 48%.
The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election analyst, recently shifted the district from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican.”
In 2024, a Congressional Leadership Fund poll found Steil leading his challenger Peter Barca, a former member of Congress and Assembly minority leader, by 10 percentage points less than a month ahead of the general election, and Steil went on to win by that much.
Recent election results, however, show differences in how voters in the district have supported presidential, congressional and Supreme Court candidates. Trump carried the district by 4.5 percentage points in 2024. But liberal Supreme Court candidates have won the district by at least 6 percentage points in elections since 2023.
Democratic political strategist Joe Zepecki said the national political environment could make the district more competitive than it has been in previous elections.
“When the political environment is as bad for either party as it is bad for Republicans right now, races that didn’t seem plausible a year ago suddenly get very real,” Zepecki said.
Zepecki said Steil could have difficulty distancing himself from the administration as voters react to Trump’s actions.
“The way that Trump’s choices and congressional Republicans’ refusal to do anything about it is really hamstringing candidates like Steil, who otherwise would be viewed as safer than he finds himself today,” Zepecki said.
Republican political strategist Bill McCoshen, however, said Democrats appear to be “potentially overreacting” to what he said appears to be a favorable national environment for their party. He said he was surprised Democrats are targeting the district.
“Will that national environment still be there in three or four weeks? We don’t know. So I guess as they’re trying to put more seats in play right now, and then they’ll narrow it down to the ones they think they have the best shot at in the final two weeks,” McCoshen said.
Who has the advantage?
Steil in 2026 benefits from advantages in name recognition and financial resources compared to his opponent, McCoshen noted.
A campaign finance report from Oct. 15 showed Steil with more than $4.2 million in his campaign chest, compared with about $338,000 for Berman.
But Berman’s campaign has received additional support from national Democrats. In September, Berman was added to the DCCC’s “Red to Blue” program, which provides selected Democratic candidates with additional fundraising and organizational support.
Barca was also added to the program during his 2024 campaign. He said the designation helped raise national money because people want to invest in candidates they believe can win.
He said the political environment changed significantly since he ran.
“The whole focus (in 2024) was putting Biden and Harris on the defensive and because even though things were improving, people didn’t really sense that big of an improvement,” Barca said. “And now though, I mean, it hasn’t been this bad since I think the recession of ’08. So as a consequence, I think it’s a completely different environment than it was.”
Mitchell Berman, the Democratic candidate in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District race, talks to supporters after a town hall for veterans at the Kenosha Union Club on Oct. 1, 2026. (Kenny Yoo for Wisconsin Watch)
Outside groups have also started pouring money into the race, bringing more national attention to the district.
The House Majority PAC has a $2.7 million ad buy planned for this district, according to AdImpact. Steil has still outpaced Berman in overall advertising spending, with about $5.9 million compared with more than $3 million for Berman, WisPolitics reported. The DCCC also made a joint ad buy of more than $270,000 for the Berman campaign.
Republican-aligned groups are also pouring money into the race. The No Going Back Pac, backed by Trump, spent over $400,000 on Steil along with crypto-backed Super PAC Wisconsin Working PAC spending over $500,000.
But Barca said spending may not be enough to overcome a broader political shift if voters remain displeased with the policies supported by Steil and other congressional Republicans.
“This is one of those potentially wave years where money can’t save you,” Barca said. “When you’ve got people hopping mad, and especially given they can connect the dots and tie what’s going on directly to policies that Steil has supported, I think that hurts dramatically.”
Candidates make their case to voters at home
While the political environment and campaign spending have drawn national attention to the race, both candidates are focused on emphasizing their message to voters in the district through their policy priorities and differing visions.
Berman, a political newcomer with more than two decades of experience in health care, is positioning himself as an outsider who can relate to working-class voters.
“I’m the true definition of a working-class candidate. I’m still working shifts in the emergency room as we run the campaign because I have a mortgage to pay,” Berman said. “Unlike Brian Steil, who sort of left for D.C. and kind of forgotten where he comes from, this is my home, and I’m invested in seeing our community do better.”
Berman said his experience in health care has shaped both his campaign and his decision to enter politics. Zepecki said this background could give him an advantage in a race where health care costs are a major concern for voters.
“I think he is exactly the kind of candidate you want at a time when health care costs are among the most severe pain points that families are dealing with,” Zepecki said.
Berman has called for lowering health care costs, restoring Affordable Care Act subsidies and reversing Medicaid cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. He is also campaigning to raise the minimum wage, protect reproductive rights and provide more funding for environmental protection.
He criticized Steil’s support for Trump’s tariffs and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, saying Steil’s support for policies like these have made life more difficult for Wisconsin residents.
U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil speaks to supporters at the primary election watch party for U.S. Rep. and Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Tiffany at the Rustic Manor wedding barn in Hartland, Wis., Aug. 11, 2026. (Zoey Elwood / Wisconsin Watch)
Steil has emphasized securing the border, protecting older adults, supporting law enforcement and that he is “a strong supporter of life,” which signals support for the anti-abortion movement without mentioning the hot-button issue. He also highlighted legislation he supported, including the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which reduced taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security and increased the standard deduction.
Both candidates emphasized affordability as the top issue for voters in the district, but disagree about the route to addressing it.
Steil said Berman’s policy proposals would put more of a financial burden on taxpayers while Berman said Steil has failed to deliver on promises to lower costs.
“Brian Steil has made a lot of promises to folks here in this district,” Berman said. “He’s been running cycle after cycle on lowering costs, making health care affordable, protecting Social Security, and he, in fact, has not done any of those things.”
Steil pointed to his support for legislation that’s helped lower costs, such as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and legislation to produce more domestic oil and gas to lower household energy and living costs for Americans.
“There’s more work to be done, and I think what you see is a contrast in policies between the radical left at the national stage, supported by my opponent, that would make life more expensive for families here in Wisconsin versus our policies to lower the costs for hardworking families,” Steil said.
The candidates do share some common ground. Both have emphasized supporting veterans, with Berman drawing on more than a decade of experience working at the VA. Both have also emphasized protecting Social Security.
Steil, having won four previous times, said the district has always been competitive and that his strategy remains the same as it has been even with continued efforts by Democrats.
“It’s a swing area of the state, a swing area of the country, which is why my focus is always on the grassroots and on direct voter outreach,” Steil said.
Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.
Editor’s note: This story was produced as part of the NEW (Northeast Wisconsin) News Lab, a consortium of six news outlets.
Three Democratic candidates tried to convince voters that they were the best shot to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Tony Wied in the 8th Congressional District.
To a crowd of about 50 on Aug. 3 at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Christie Theatre, the candidates tried to differentiate themselves to voters heading into the Aug. 11 primary election. The winner will go against Wied in the Nov. 3 general election, vying to represent nearly 737,000 people across 11 counties in northeastern Wisconsin.
On substance, their positions often aligned, on issues such as the environment, culture and the rights of Indigenous tribes, but they deviated some on public education and health care.
They were most divergent on style and their read of the Democratic Party.
Rick Crosson, a former Green Bay School Board member, doubled down on his tactic of growing the Democratic Party’s appeal as an insider, saying there was “absolutely nothing wrong with being a Democrat” or being an insider to “fix any and all issues that we may be dealing with.” He said his political icon was the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights leader from Georgia.
Katrina deVille, a musician who has campaigned on being a political outsider and democratic socialist, said, “We don’t even have a left party in this country anymore” and “we have to vote for something different.” Her political icons are New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Mark Scheffler, a former wealth adviser who’s billed himself as a progressive independent, said Democrats “need to expand the base to include open-minded independents and even open-minded conservatives that are abandoning the Trump administration.” He considered former Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as his most esteemed political figure.
Here’s what the candidates said during the forum.
On winning a historically red district
Winning was top of mind for Scheffler and Crosson, so much so that Scheffler said it was the best word to describe his campaign.
The district has not elected a Democratic representative since 2008, when Rep. Steve Kagen won the seat before losing in 2010 to Republican Reid Ribble.
Scheffler said his strategy to winning was targeting those who have felt neglected by the Democratic Party. He pointed to voters in rural communities, whom he said the Democratic Party hasn’t done enough to connect with, and people in business, whom he said the Democratic Party hasn’t been welcoming enough of.
Congressional candidate Rick Crosson laughs with a supporter before a forum for Democratic candidates for the 8th Congressional District on Aug. 3, 2026, at Christie Theater on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in Green Bay, Wis. (Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)
Crosson argued he had built a broad coalition that could win across the political spectrum and that he had “attached myself with every group you can name.” He said he’d gotten a neighbor of Wied’s to put up a Crosson yard sign and that a Republican former state treasurer had told Crosson that he’d nudged his Democratic wife to vote for him.
And asked what made her the best candidate, deVille positioned herself as a foil to Republicans and “the biggest eff-you that people can send to the federal government” being a transgender woman.
“Any time I’ve had to deal with a Republican politician, they crash out,” deVille said. “The minute I walk in the room, they can’t even look at me, and they just crash out, and it’s fantastic.”
She touted hosting town halls at gun ranges and her position as a Second Amendment advocate.
Congressional candidate Katrina deVille speaks during a forum for Democratic candidates for the 8th Congressional District on Aug. 3, 2026, at Christie Theater on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in Green Bay, Wis. (Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)
On breaking with the Democratic Party
Asked if there was a specific policy on which he would break from the Democratic Party when voting in Congress, Crosson said, “If I had anything to offer our party at this point in time, it is: We need to have a conversation about who we are, and do we have bias that’s running through our party that needs to be addressed and have the honest dialogue about what inclusiveness means?”
For deVille, it was gun rights. She argued that more gun laws would only deter law-abiding citizens and that more enforcement and focus on mental health care rather than legislation were needed.
For Scheffler, it was gerrymandering. He criticized both Republican and Democratic efforts to draw favorable district boundaries and said that “partisanship should never come at the price of an individual’s right to vote.”
Congressional candidate Mark Scheffler speaks during a forum for Democratic candidates for the 8th Congressional District on Aug. 3, 2026, at Christie Theater on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in Green Bay, Wis. (Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)
On what they would do in Congress
The candidates aligned on much of their stances on abortion and transgender rights. They all said they would:
Vote to codify the right to an abortion in federal law.
Support equal opportunity and access for transgender people.
Not take money from political action committees.
Support a tax on billionaires.
Support increasing funding to Social Security by raising the cap on payroll taxes.
Support free four-year public college tuition.
Support a universal, federally funded child care program.
Support banning drilling leases on public land.
Support increasing the size of the Supreme Court.
Decriminalizing marijuana.
Banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks.
Crosson said he would back the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would create a more stringent process for states and institutions to make changes that could affect voting rights.
He argued the size of the military needed to be reevaluated as it currently “is not based on a strategy or a vision,” he said.
Crosson said that health care was a universal human right and that there was enough money to expand Medicaid, but did not go so far as deVille or Scheffler to say he supported a universal health care system.
Only deVille said she would oppose introducing term limits on members of Congress.
DeVille also said that she supported abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and that she would introduce articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on her first day in Congress. She argued that the United States needed to be more open to free trade with the rest of the world.
She said she would support the CEO Act, a bill that would tax company heads for making at least 50 times what their company’s average worker makes.
She also said she would introduce legislation to “ban voucher schools.”
Scheffler said he would eliminate the Internal Revenue Service as part of his proposed policy to revamp the tax code with a singular sales tax. He argued that Republicans would be on board, that it was a progressive tax and that libertarians would be supportive with the need to file annual taxes being gone.
He also promoted his idea for the Great Lakes region to become the world’s largest market for biomass. Under the plan, farmers would be paid $400 an acre to grow “fibrous pulp” that would be sent to the region’s paper manufacturers, Scheffler said. He framed it as a sustainable method to reduce the area’s dependency on foreign-grown sources for the local paper industry and as a policy that would protect against tariffs.
Jesse Lin is a reporter covering the community of Green Bay and its surroundings, as well as politics in northeastern Wisconsin. He also writes a weekly column answering reader questions about Green Bay. Contact and send him questions at 920-834-4250 or jlin@usatodayco.com.
As early voting starts next week in the Aug. 11 primary to determine who will be on the November ballot, Democrats hope to flip two U.S. House seats in Wisconsin.
Republicans took control of the House in 2022 and currently hold six of Wisconsin’s eight seats. The primaries feature several political newcomers and could offer insight into which wings of each party are exerting the most influence.
Here are the four House primaries we are watching in August:
Congressional District 1
Democrats are targeting this district to unseat four-term U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, who defeated Democratic challenger Peter Barca in 2024 by 10 percentage points. Barca wasn’t new to Wisconsin politics, having served in Congress and the state Assembly as minority leader. He also served as secretary of the state Department of Revenue before his 2024 run.
“On paper, it’s a competitive district,” said Barry Burden, University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor and director of the Elections Research Center. “The trouble is Steil is a really formidable incumbent.”
Because Steil, who succeeded former House Speaker Paul Ryan in 2019, has a fundraising advantage and is not a controversial figure, Burden said this district is much harder to flip regardless of national Democratic efforts. Since the start of his latest term, Steil has raised $3 million, received more than $2 million from other committees and has $6.1 million cash on hand.
ER nurse Mitchell Berman has established a clear edge in the primary. He has received multiple lawmaker endorsements, including Reps. Ann Roe, D-Janesville; Ben DeSmidt, D-Kenosha; and Tip McGuire, D-Kenosha. He recently launched a six-figure ad buy, highlighting his experience as a nurse working with veterans and his campaign on protecting health care and lowering costs. He has raised over $650,000 and has about $220,000 cash on hand.
Milwaukee Ald. Peter Burgelis suspended his campaign after the July 15 campaign finance filing deadline and offered to support Berman. Burgelis’ report showed he had raised just over $54,000 in the most recent quarter. He had been campaigning on lowering costs, making communities safer and defending voting rights.
Lorenzo Santos, a Navy veteran and the former Young Democrats of Wisconsin chair, previously ran for the seat in 2024, but suspended his campaign before the primary. His top priorities include raising the federal minimum wage to $26 by 2030, universal Medicare and supporting veteran mental health services. He has about $10,000.
Miguel Aranda is the Whitewater Unified School District Board vice president and the associate director of PreCollege Programs at UW-Whitewater. His campaign emphasizes that he is the only Spanish speaker in the race, and his priorities include criminal justice and immigration reform, supporting unions and protecting Medicare. He has more than $13,000 cash on hand.
What we’re watching: In what’s supposed to be a good year for Democrats and a bad year for incumbents, will a relatively unknown Democratic nominee give Steil any trouble?
Congressional District 3
The top Democratic target in Wisconsin is U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden. The 2024 Democratic nominee Rebecca Cooke and former Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge are running in the Democratic primary.
Burden said this is the only congressional district in the state seriously in play for Democrats.
Van Orden has had a controversial political career after succeeding longtime Democratic moderate Ron Kind. He is known for his incendiary tweets and past clashes such as scolding teenage Senate pages in 2023 and confronting a La Crosse library worker over an LGBTQ+ book display in 2021. He also closely aligns with President Donald Trump, who won Wisconsin in 2024 but has since seen his approval ratings crater.
“He’s in real jeopardy,” Burden said. “This could be a district that Republicans lose.”
Cooke lost to Van Orden in 2024 by less than 3 percentage points. Burden said her high-profile endorsements, including U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin and Bernie Sanders and state Sen. Brad Pfaff, D-Onalaska, give her a leg up in the Aug. 11 primary. Cooke leads in fundraising at nearly $7.5 million in the latest quarter with $2.5 million cash on hand while Van Orden raised $5.2 million with $4.7 million in the bank.
Cooke has faced criticism for portraying herself as a political outsider while working as a Democratic fundraiser and as a political consultant for controversy-courting Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad. She has more recently worked with the center-left think tank Third Way.
Her biggest campaign priorities include expanding Medicare, supporting farmers and lowering costs for working families.
Berge is running for the seat for the first time. She has received endorsements from legislators including state Sen. Jeff Smith, D-Brunswick, and state Rep. Tara Johnson, D-town of Shelby. She touts her prior elected experience and supports universal health care and affordable housing. Berge has raised $686,000.
What we’re watching: What will Democratic turnout in the August primary tell us about Van Orden’s chances compared with 2024?
Congressional District 7
This far northern Wisconsin district has two loaded primaries as U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany wraps up three terms in Congress to run for governor. Five Republicans are vying to keep the seat red while three Democrats make their bids in what will likely remain a safe Republican district.
Alfonso leads the fundraising race at $1.25 million, with Ebben trailing behind with just over $460,000.
Hermening, a Marine veteran, has raised $103,000 for his campaign but also gave himself a $1 million loan. He is endorsed by lawmakers including state Sen. Romaine Quinn, R-Birchwood, and state Rep. Pat Snyder, R-Schofield. His top campaign issues include protecting Social Security and Medicare and supporting veterans.
Raihala said some of the biggest issues constituents have in the district are illegal immigration and the Jeffrey Epstein files, and he said he would continue to support deportations of immigrants lacking permanent legal status and the full release of the files.
Baum holds a more moderate view of immigration, saying that while she supports border security, she says immigrants are essential in Wisconsin and wants to create a “functional legal pathway” for workers. She also supports a data center moratorium and wants to uplift Wisconsin farmers. Baum has raised about $6,000.
Similar to Raihala, Ebben holds border security high on her priority list, as well as pro-life values, Second Amendment rights and strengthening rural communities. She also emphasizes her intense support for Trump, though she did not receive his endorsement for her campaign.
Trump’s endorsement went early in the race to Alfonso, 26, who also received endorsements from House Speaker Mike Johnson and four of the six Wisconsin Republican congressional incumbents. His top priorities include states’ rights, pro-life values and supporting school choice.
Burden said the Trump endorsement might not be enough to pull Alfonso through.
“Alfonso has these other liabilities,” Burden said. “His youth and inexperience are serious. He’s just old enough to serve in Congress and really has not had any experience being employed or working in party politics in any meaningful way.”
The wealthy Republican Uihlein family split their donations in this district. Richard Uihlein donated to Alfonso’s campaign and gave $1 million to a PAC supporting him. But his wife, Elizabeth Uihlein, donated to Ebben’s campaign and gave $1 million to a PAC supporting her. Burden said this highlights the divide among party insiders whether to follow Trump’s lead or not.
What we’re watching: Is Trump’s endorsement enough to override concerns about inexperience and nepotism in northern Wisconsin?
Congressional District 8
Three Democratic newcomers are competing to unseat freshman U.S. Rep. Tony Wied, who won by about 15 percentage points against obstetrician-gynecologist Kristin Lyerly in 2024, in this solid Republican Green Bay area district.
Mark Scheffler, a retired business owner, heavily campaigns on the idea of a “sustainable society,” which includes affordable health care, privacy rights and economic prosperity. He also prioritizes conservation and protecting the environment. Scheffler has raised just over $107,000, compared to Wied’s $1 million haul.
Rick Crosson is an Army veteran from Green Bay. His campaign says he wants to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs for more timely and quality treatment, fighting agriculture corporations to support small farmers and supporting rural reproductive health care. He has raised just over $63,000.
Democratic Socialist Katrina deVille, a transgender woman, advocates for a $22 federal minimum wage, universal health care and free child care. She also says she wants to file articles of impeachment against Trump on her first day if elected. She has raised just under $3,000.
What we’re watching: Can Democrats mount a credible challenge in northeast Wisconsin in what could be a blue wave year?
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