Wisconsin Democrats feel like the national party ignored winnable districts in 2022. This cycle, however, no one is leaving anything to chance.
The 3rd District — a competitive seat represented by the controversial Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden — landed on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” list, which comes with money, attention and ad buys. That’s a big shift from 2022 — much to the relief of state operatives — when the Democratic candidate came within four points of winning, but the DCCC had all but abandoned the race.
“I think it was a mistake for national Dems to not get involved in 2022,” a Democratic operative in the state said about the 3rd District. Democrats throughout Wisconsin are “all really happy to see that time and money and attention this time,” they said. “Do we wish it came last time? For sure.”