Third candidate enters Democratic field for Congress in western Wisconsin

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WCFW) – A third Democratic candidate has filed for and announced their candidacy for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District.

Laura Benjamin, who previously served on the Eau Claire City Council in 2019, announced on Friday that she was running for Congress.

Benjamin filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday, April 16.

In her announcement, Benjamin said she’s running to preserve the rights of people in western Wisconsin.

I'm running for Congress in Wisconsin's 3rd District.We deserve better than Derrick Van Orden. Not only has he supported big business over local ag and voted to cut VA programs, but he continues to enable the constitutional violations of the Trump administration.It's time to take a stand.

— laura for the people (@laura.direct) 2025-04-18T20:16:56.888Z

“We deserve better than Derrick Van Orden,” Benjamin posted on Bluesky. “I’m ready to bring the fight and lay the blame at his doorstep, every day from now until November 2, 2026.”

Benjamin, who is a small business owner and runs an issues-focused YouTube channel, will officially kick off her campaign on April 22 at an event in Eau Claire. The format for her campaign launch is a town hall.

Current Eau Claire City Council president Emily Berge announced her campaign earlier this week. Rebecca Cooke, who has run for the seat twice previously and is also from Eau Claire, announced her campaign in March.

Last year, three candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Congress: Cooke, who lost to Republican Derrick Van Orden in the fall election, former state Assembly representative Katrina Shankland, and Eric Wilson. Cooke won the primary.

Cooke’s narrow loss last year sets the table for a 2026 race that is among the most competitive nationally. Election experts believe Democrats on the ballot stand a chance to fare better without Donald Trump on the ballot.

Van Orden won elections in 2022 over state Senator Brad Pfaff and 2024 over Cooke. The second-term Congressman is among President Trump’s most ardent supporters. Van Orden has not formally announced any plans for re-election.