GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden has his plan of attack against newly minted opponent Rebecca Cooke ready: Tie her to democratic socialism.
“It’s not harder to tie Rebecca Cooke to socialism, as it would be tie her to having red hair. That’s who she is,” Van Orden said in an interview shortly after Cooke officially won the Democratic nomination for Wisconsin’s 3rd District on Tuesday.
The Wisconsin Republican is planning a “two-pronged” strategy to defend his seat: running on his record of accomplishments with veterans issues and other topics, while pointing out Cooke is more extreme than she claims on policing and immigration.
He said he recently shot some ads that feature his bio as a Navy SEAL, while he called Cooke a “cocktail communist” and suggested the Democrat was “anointed” by establishment leaders. He added that the ads would “blanket” the airwaves soon.
Van Orden, like many Republicans, was primed to tie Cooke to democratic socialist Francesca Hong, who is locked in a competitive Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor. If Hong loses to the more moderate David Crowley, Van Orden acknowledged that would mean less “national attention” on Wisconsin.
Still, he said he plans to make Cooke a bogeyman all on her own, with or without Hong.
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