Cooke becomes Democrat nominee in 3rd Congressional race

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WSAW) - A race between three candidates vying over a chance to take on Rep. Derrick Van Orden in November is over.

In a race between Rebecca Cooke, Eric Wilson, and Katrina Shankland, all of whom have similar ideas and wants, Cooke came out on top.

The 3rd Congressional District covers a lot of territory and Cooke feels that she’s heard from voters and has the proper platform to represent them.

“Healthcare is at the very top of my platform, increasing healthcare access and affordability,” Cooke said. “That includes protecting women’s right to choose. It’s not my role to be in a doctor’s office making healthcare decisions.”

Now that the battle between Democrats is over, Cooke believes there needs to be a collective focus on winning in November.

“The thing is, we’re not going to just need the support of Democrats throughout the 3rd, but a broad coalition of support of swing, moderate, independent voters,” she said following Tuesday’s victory. “That’s going to be critically important, so expanding that big Democratic tent I think is going to be critical.”