Talks for a La Crosse Chamber of Commerce debate between Rep. Derrick Van Orden and Democrat Rebecca Cooke collapsed Monday after a Chamber-moderated call, with each side accusing the other of walking away.
Cooke posted on X shortly after the call that Van Orden had “backed out” after initially agreeing to two dates, writing that he was “chickening out because he can’t defend his record.” She said he has never hosted an in-person town hall and has not debated general-election opponents in recent cycles.
However, Van Orden’s campaign said Cooke’s account of what happened is the exact opposite of the truth and it was Cooke’s team who ultimately pulled out and declined the debate. Campaign staff said Cooke’s team wanted the debate in La Crosse “on her court.” Van Orden accepted the Chamber’s terms and offered 14 dates in October that fit his schedule.
The call was meant to settle on a date and time, but there was never a date both campaigns had locked in. Cooke’s side would not accept the date/time slots offered by Van Orden, citing she was booked with get-out-the-vote events.
According to the Van Orden campaign, Cooke’s campaign accused Van Orden of “declining to debate” and told the DVO team they were “pulling away from negotiations,” charging the Van Orden team with negotiating in bad faith.
“I have now accepted four debate invitations. Rebecca Cooke has declined all four,” Van Orden said. “Today, her campaign declined the La Crosse Chamber debate on a recorded call, and then she went online and outright lied that I was the one who walked away. This is not a misunderstanding.” He said Cooke has long presented herself as a waitress and outsider while working as a paid political consultant, and that a debate would require her to answer for that record and past ties to groups that supported data-center development.
A Cooke spokesperson said Van Orden was “dodging real debates and hiding behind partisan stunts because he can’t defend his record of passing huge tax breaks for data centers, cutting healthcare for Wisconsinites,” and other votes, and that it became clear he would not participate in a nonpartisan debate.
Van Orden has accepted invitations from the Wisconsin Gun Owners Association, the Wisconsin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Hunter Nation. Cooke declined those, citing partisan bias of the hosts. He has also accepted Eau Claire Chamber terms and says he will appear if the campaigns can agree on a time.
The Van Orden campaign later released a recording of the Chamber-moderated call, saying the audio shows that Cooke’s campaign, not Van Orden’s, walked away from the negotiations. In the recording, a Van Orden staffer can be heard asking a Cooke campaign staffer, “So you’re declining this debate as well?” The Cooke staffer responds, “We are not continuing with these negotiations as they clearly are not being held in good faith.” The recording also shows the Van Orden campaign explicitly accepting the La Crosse debate.
The Van Orden campaign said the exchange directly contradicts Cooke’s subsequent claim that Van Orden “backed out” of the debate.
The race is a rematch of 2024, when Van Orden won Wisconsin’s 3rd District. With early voting approaching and no joint appearance set, voters still lack a side-by-side exchange. The DVO campaign says their position remains unchanged and they remain open to a debate.
