WELCOMEPAC ENDORSES REBECCA COOKE IN WISCONSIN’S THIRD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
WelcomePAC, which works to elect moderate Democrats in conservative-leaning congressional districts, announced its endorsement Thursday for Rebecca Cooke in Wisconsin’s third congressional district. WelcomePAC invested more than $2 million in the 2022 election cycle supporting Democrats Will Rollins (CA-41) and Adam Frisch (CO-03).
“With an increasingly unproductive Congress, it is now more important than ever that we compete in districts where villainous extremist Republicans are vulnerable, and Wisconsin’s third congressional district is one of those districts,” said Lauren Harper Pope, co-founder of WelcomePAC. “Rebecca understands people and their unique needs in Wisconsin. She intentionally reaches out to voters in the middle and works to earn their votes, particularly focused on the independent and moderate voters who embody the spirit of her district. Rebecca’s quintessential Welcome campaign is building a coalition among Democrats, Republicans and Independent voters, which will help her defeat insurrectionist Derrick Van Orden in November.”
Rebecca Cooke said, “When I talk to folks at the county fair or the coffee shop, they don’t care about the partisan bickering going on in Washington, D.C. – they want a representative who will fight to lower prices they see in the grocery store, make their prescriptions affordable and ensure that working people get a fair shot at the American Dream. To make that a reality for western Wisconsin, we need to replace Derrick Van Orden. I’m excited to work with WelcomePAC to do just that.”
Welcome’s write-up on the endorsement and the district can be found on its Substack, WelcomeStack.
ABOUT WELCOMEPAC:
WelcomePAC launched in November 2021 to build a “Justice Democrats for the Center" by recruiting and backing brand-differentiated Democratic challengers with the capacity to defeat democracy-undermining GOP incumbents on their home turf. Operating in three geographies (CO-03, CA-41, Ohio), WelcomePAC identified districts where voters were not given an alternative - where Democrats were "Conceding Democracy" by not supporting credibly funded challengers. By elevating candidates and messengers who appeal to swing voters in center-right districts, WelcomePAC supported two of the most over-performing challengers and is now partnering with the team of the third challenger.
These were districts where Nate Silver gave Democrats just a 2% to 5% chance of winning.
California-41: boosted the bipartisan credentials and Republican endorsements of former Gov. Schwarzenegger aide Will Rollins. Ranked 3rd most over-performing Democratic campaign in any GOP district. Silver rated this race as "Solid Republican" with a 5% chance of flipping.
Colorado-03: conducted polling, primary election voter engagement, and party-switching voter identification for independent-turned-Democratic Adam Frisch. Vote went to recount and was rated 2nd most over-performing Democratic campaign in any GOP district. Silver rated this race as "Solid Republican" with a 3% chance of flipping.
Analysis and perspective can be found in The Bulwark (continued electoral importance of Never Trumper voters), The New York Times (missed opportunities in the 2022 cycle), and The Washington Post (split ticket voters). Weekly reflections on the broader context of our work can be found on our Substack.
In 2022, WelcomePAC invested more than $2 million in three targeted geographies in its inaugural cycle informed by our perspective on the inefficiency of the Democratic marketplace and the ballooning value of each Congressional seat.