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ROUND UP: Western Wisconsin Democrats Wrap Up 3rd District Unity Tour

Aug 19, 2024

ROUND UP: Western Wisconsin Democrats Wrap Up 3rd District Unity Tour

MADISON, Wis. — Last week, Democrats in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District completed a two-day tour in western Wisconsin to energize voters and elect Democrats up and down the ticket in November. Democratic candidate for Congress Rebecca Cooke joined fellow primary candidates Katrina Shankland and Eric Wilson to campaign alongside Democratic candidates for the state Assembly and Senate. Speaking in Stevens Point, Menomonie, Eau Claire, La Crosse and Viroqua, the candidates came together to showcase Democratic unity to defeat Derrick Van Orden and Republicans in the state Legislature. 

Read more coverage on the Unity Tour below

Leader-Telegram: “Rebecca Cooke, the Democratic nominee for Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District, made stops in Stevens Point, Menomonie and Eau Claire on Thursday. On Friday, she will make two more stops in western Wisconsin. The stops were part of a ‘Democratic Unity Tour,’ as she was joined by her competitors in the recent primary election: Eric Wilson and Katrina Shankland. ‘I am excited to be here and really throw my support behind our entire Democratic ticket, because the stakes in this race could not be higher,’ said Shankland, ‘both for our democracy and freedom.’”

WAOW: “Cooke […] said Van Orden’s temperament and voting record don’t reflect western Wisconsin values. ‘Beyond his temperament, it’s a policy perspective. It doesn’t match our values. He’s at one point called for a nationwide abortion ban. He votes for a farm bill that really benefits large agricultural conglomerates, not the small to mid-sized family farms like I grew up on,’ said Cooke. Cooke said she’s kicking off a unity tour this week with Shankland and Eric Wilson, her other primary opponent, in an effort to show a united front in taking back the seat held by Ron Kind for more than 20 years.”

NEWS 8000: “Cooke on Friday thanked her primary opponents and vowed to deliver for the district in a bipartisan manner. ‘I’m going to work across the aisle to get things done for people in the 3rd’, Cooke said. ‘So often I feel like people want the credit from their party, and I am going to work with whoever to get things done. It doesn’t matter who gets the credit. But we have work to do; it is clear that people in Washington are too busy playing partisan games than delivering for folks.’”

NEWS19: “The tour, dubbed the ‘3rd District Unity Tour,’ is a concerted effort by Wisconsin Democrats to build momentum and galvanize voters to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. At the event Cooke spoke on the importance of electing candidates who prioritize the needs of everyday Wisconsinites, criticizing her opponent in the process. ‘I think what it comes down to is who’s really delivering for working families. Derrick Van Orden is a lot of talk, with no walk. He has continued to push radicalism and his temperament. It’s all about partisan game playing and what’s in it for him and not actually delivering for working families throughout the third congressional district.’”

Yahoo! News: “But for Cooke, pushing towards the general election is the next step. ‘The general election really started yesterday, and the work that we are doing coming together around this district I think is critically important because it is going to take all of us. Not only to turn out Democratic voters throughout this district, but to swing moderate independent voters that we need in order to build up our big Democratic tent and welcome people in,’ she said.”

Civic Media: “‘We’ve all, maybe not read all 900 pages of Project 2025, but at least skimmed the most devastating agenda that I’ve ever seen from Republicans,’ said Shankland. ‘Whether it’s surveilling women’s bodies which is just creepy, or whether it’s eliminating our EPA, destroying environmental protections, privatizing public education, there are so many reasons why we came together today to not only stand up for our Democracy and our freedoms, but also work really hard to elect our entire Democratic ticket including Rebecca Cooke, our 3rd CD nominee.’” 

WIZM: “Shankland, who wraps up her Wisconsin state Assembly term at the end of the year, placed second in the primary. ‘People know that their vote matters,’ Shankland said, ‘and they’re incredibly fired up about the opportunity to make generational, transformational change simply by going to the polls in November.’ Wilson said Democratic candidates want to represent everyone. Speaking about party unity, he said the candidates have had ‘a lot of differences come up, but really what it means to be a Democrat is to represent everyone.’”

 
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