Democrats get negative in 3rd Congressional District primary

The attacks between two of the Democrats vying for western Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District grew increasingly negative Thursday, with Rebecca Cooke of Eau Claire accusing Stevens Point state Rep. Katrina Shankland of voting with Republicans to block Medicaid expansion and Shankland accusing Cooke of using “dark money” to lie about her record.

The back-and-forth was the latest sign of an unusually contentious primary campaign for Democrats, who are hoping to oust current Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin’s closely watched 3rd Congressional District.

On July 10, Shankland’s campaign began running a TV ad showing the lawmaker shaving her husband’s head while asking, “Would you hire a barber who never cut hair before? So, why send someone to Congress who’s never held public office?” Midway through the 15-second ad, a black and white picture of Cooke appears at the bottom of the screen along with all caps text stating “REBECCA COOKE HAS NEVER HELD PUBLIC OFFICE.” 

On July 25, Cooke posted an update on her website calling for assistance from political action committees to get her message out. It touts her experience as a small business owner, nonprofit leader and an appointment by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Board.

The post also states that “Democratic Primary Voters who watch streaming and YouTube need to see and hear” that Shankland “was the only Democrat to vote in committee with Republicans to pass a bill to block the Governor from expanding Badgercare without approval from the Republican legislature.” The campaign’s post claims that’s led to 90,000 Wisconsinites being denied coverage and “contributed to the closure of hospitals.”

A day after the post went live, Shankland responded with a press release stating that Cooke was “caught lying about her background as a political fundraiser, backs out of debate, and begs for dark money help against Shankland.” It cites a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel column outlining Cooke’s previous work as a campaign finance director for congressional races in Minnesota, Michigan, Colorado and California.

During a press conference with reporters Thursday, Shankland, Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, who represents Wisconsin’s 2nd Congressional District, and Democratic state Sen. Jeff Smith of Eau Claire said Cooke’s request was answered by what they call “dark money” third-party groups, which turned Cooke’s post into online attack ads. 

“When we have big money come in from out-of-state PACs who don’t have to disclose their donors, we don’t know who they are or why they’re interested in this race,” Shankland said. “We just know that they’re interested in not only distorting my legislative record, but many other legislators too.”

Shankland said she’s proud of her bipartisan efforts and Cooke’s attack sets the wrong precedent for future primary elections, is harmful to democracy and puts other Democrats running in competitive western Wisconsin districts in jeopardy.

Pocan told reporters he usually doesn’t get involved in primary races between fellow Democrats, but he said Cooke’s callout and the subsequent attack ads from groups like Welcome PAC and Blue Dog PAC go beyond the typical messaging from Democrats in primaries. 

“We’re not used to this in Wisconsin,” Pocan said. “You don’t signal, ‘Please spend negative money against another candidate,’ and then welcome that sort of money and those sorts of attacks.” 

Pocan said he’s throwing his support behind Shankland because Van Orden “is such an embarrassment to Wisconsin.”

“The best contrast we have is someone who’s an accomplished state legislator, who’s respected, who’s outperformed Democrats in her own district by three or four points,” Pocan said.

A statement from Cooke campaign manager Alex Obolensky sent to WPR states the campaign is “incredibly disappointed that Katrina Shankland has chosen to attack the broad coalition of support for Rebecca’s campaign and taken this race negative in an attempt to hide her troubling record in the Assembly. It also reiterated that Shankland “was the only Democrat to side with” former Republican Gov. Scott Walker and vote in committee with Republicans to block the Governor from expanding BadgerCare.” 

The bill the Cooke campaign is referring to was passed in 2018. It was Republicans’ plan to control insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act. Shankland voted with Democrats in opposing amendments, but then voted with Republicans in passing the bill.

“Such aimless attacks from Shankland undermine Democratic unity within the district, the party’s chances of retaking this seat, and our goal of restoring responsible Democratic leadership in the House,” said Obolensky’s statement.

“The groups Shankland is now attacking are supporting Rebecca Cooke because they want to send Derrick Van Orden home, and they know Rebecca is the Democrat who can win.”

In addition to Shankland and Cooke, Democrat Eric Wilson is also vying for the 3rd Congressional District.

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Political Science Professor Anthony Chergosky told WPR there’s a “very different tone” in this year’s Democratic primary than in the 2022 campaign cycle, in which Cooke was also a candidate.

“I think for Democrats, the risk is that negative campaigning in this election cycle could divide the party going into November,” said Chergosky.

Despite the barbs, both Shankland and Cooke have said they will support whoever the Democratic nominee is in the general election against Van Orden.

Chergosky was part of a broad effort to host a Democratic debate ahead of the Aug. 13 primary election. Known as the La Crosse Debate Coalition, it included WPR, WXOW-TV, WKBT-TV, the La Crosse Tribune, WIZM Radio, the La Crosse chapter of the League of Women Voters and the UW-La Crosse. 

The debate never happened, which was a surprise for Chergosky. 

“Over the course of six weeks, roughly, we kept trying and kept failing to come up with a proposal that all three candidates would agree to.

He said several dates and times were proposed to the campaigns and Shankland agreed to every one, but Cooke and Wilson had scheduling concerns.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the district represented by U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan.