Democrat congressional candidate Rebecca Cooke is distancing herself from former Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of her upcoming visit to Wisconsin, declaring that she doesn’t need the failed Democratic presidential nominee campaigning alongside her in Western Wisconsin.
Harris is scheduled to visit Wisconsin on October 26 to campaign for Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Crowley, but Cooke apparently has little interest in joining the former vice president on the campaign trail. According to Spectrum News, Cooke’s campaign has not been in contact with Harris’ team, and the congressional candidate is not expected to attend the event.
Cooke went a step further, pointing to her performance in the 2024 election to explain why she doesn’t need Harris’ help.
“I received 9,000 more votes than Harris in 2024. I don’t need anyone to come and campaign with me in my district,” Cooke said.
The comments amount to a pointed dismissal of the former vice president, who lost Wisconsin to President Donald Trump in 2024.
But while Cooke apparently doesn’t need Kamala Harris campaigning in her district, she hasn’t been nearly as reluctant to embrace another prominent national Democrat: self-described democratic socialist Bernie Sanders.
In August 2025, Cooke enthusiastically joined Sanders at a rally in Viroqua, where the Vermont senator campaigned alongside her and promoted her congressional candidacy. Sanders, one of the most prominent figures on the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, had previously endorsed Cooke in her campaign to unseat Republican Congressman Derrick Van Orden.
Cooke later leaned on that endorsement during her contentious Democratic primary against former Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge, who challenged Cooke from the left. Cooke’s campaign began running advertisements featuring Sanders in the closing weeks of the primary as she worked to shore up support among progressive voters.
The embrace of Sanders stands in contrast to Cooke’s efforts to present herself as a moderate Democrat capable of appealing to independent and Republican voters.
As The Heartland Post previously reported, Cooke emphasized Sanders’ endorsement during the Democratic primary before pivoting toward the political center in her general election advertising, including a campaign ad titled “Moderate.”
Cooke has also touted support from centrist Democratic organizations, including the Blue Dog PAC, while simultaneously highlighting her backing from Sanders.
The contrasting messages have become a central feature of Cooke’s campaign as she attempts to assemble a coalition spanning the Democratic Party’s progressive and moderate wings.
A Critical Race for Control of Congress
The political positioning comes as Cooke faces Van Orden in one of the most closely watched congressional races in the country. Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, which covers much of Western Wisconsin, is a top Democratic pickup target in the battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Van Orden defeated Cooke by approximately 2.7 percentage points in 2024, despite Cooke outperforming Harris in the district.
With Republicans defending a narrow House majority and Democrats needing a net gain of four seats to regain control, the rematch carries significant national implications.
Cooke has worked to present herself as a moderate in a district Trump carried, even as she leaned on Bernie Sanders to fend off a progressive primary challenger. Now, with control of Congress hanging in the balance, Cooke is distancing herself from Kamala Harris while hoping voters overlook the socialist she enthusiastically welcomed to Western Wisconsin.
