Republican Derrick Van Orden flips Wisconsin House seat red for first time in decades

Republican Derrick Van Orden has received the open Home seat in Wisconsin’s third Congressional District after defeating Democratic candidate Brad Pfaff, flipping the seat purple for the primary time in 26 years.

The Home district was left open by the retirement of longtime Democratic Rep. Ron Sort following 26 years in Congress.

Van Orden, a former Navy SEAL and Trump-endorsed candidate, beforehand challenged Sort in his bid for re-election in 2020, however the Democrat received by a slim 3-point margin.

MIDTERM ELECTIONS 2022: LIVE UPDATES

Pfaff is a state Senator in Wisconsin and former U.S. Division of Agriculture official underneath the Obama administration with ties to the farming neighborhood in Wisconsin. 

Van Orden acquired criticism for being current on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the place protestors breached the constructing, which Pfaff often introduced as much as assault his Republican opponent.

WISCONSIN CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE SAYS ‘LEFTISTS’ CANNOT BE CHRISTIANS

Rep. Ron Sort, D-Wisc., introduced his retirement from Congress in August 2021 after serving within the Home for 26 years. 
(Invoice Clark)

Van Orden additionally raised eyebrows when he claimed that “leftists” can’t be Christians at a marketing campaign cease, to which Pfaff responded forcefully calling these remarks an “assault on my lifestyle” in a current press convention. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Although the district in rural Wisconsin has been in Democratic management for 26 years, it has been trending Republican lately with Trump successful by small margins in 2016 and 2020.

The Related Press contributed to this report.