“Last November, we won the trust of voters across the party spectrum and nearly sent a farm kid to Washington. We need more working class voices like ours who will fight like hell to build back the middle class,” Cooke said in a social media post announcing her candidacy Tuesday.

She is the first Democrat to enter the race, which is slated to be the most competitive House race in the Badger State next year. The district is a mixed bag encompassing the midsized cities of La Crosse, a historically blue and college city, and Eau Claire, as well as many rural communities and Wisconsin exurbs of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. 

Cooke, who grew up on a dairy farm and has touted her work as a waitress before becoming a small business owner, said in a statement she plans to focus on the working-class in her run for office.

“While Derrick Van Orden cowers and hides from the people of western Wisconsin, big drug companies are jacking up our medicine prices, out-of-touch elites are blocking pathways to homeownership and good jobs, and chaos continues to dominate Washington,” Cooke said. “It’s clear we need more working-class voices in Congress who have lived failed policy and will actually fight like hell to rebuild the middle class.”

Van Orden, in recent weeks, has caught flack from his constituents over his absence in the district and a harsh message he sent to a veteran who was fired from their role in Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

Constituents have said his office canceled a district meeting in Eau Claire last month. Van Orden said the event was canceled to avoid disruptive outsiders.

Tony Ruiz, a veteran who served two years overseas in Germany, reached out to Van Orden about his role being terminated. Van Orden responded by saying he was going to report him to DOGE.

FOUR BIG DEADLINES IN 2025 THAT WILL TEST GOP TRIFECTA LEADERSHIP

“I am a member of Congress on the VA Committee. I have absolutely no say in the employment status of any individual in the executive branch, however, I will be referring you to DOGE as it seems that at 13:46 on a Monday, you should have been working for veterans, not posting trash about your boss, President Trump. There needs to be accountability. Now,” Van Orden wrote back. 

Ruiz said he sent the message after he was fired and, therefore, was not working at the time.