MADISON - Bernie Sanders will visit Wisconsin's Driftless Area next week as part of a tour of the Midwest aimed at boosting Democratic congressional candidates ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The Vermont senator who won the Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary in 2016 will hold "an intimate town hall" event with Rebecca Cooke, who is challenging Republican Congressman Derrick Van Orden in the 3rd Congressional District.
Sanders' visit comes five months after he last appeared in Wisconsin, when he attracted thousands to events ahead of the state Supreme Court election in the 1st and 3rd congressional districts as part of his tour of GOP-held areas.
Sanders' tour will make stops in Republican-held congressional districts in Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin, according to his campaign. He is scheduled to hold rallies in Davenport, Iowa and Kalamazoo, Michigan and also will appear at an event in Chicago with U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, who is seeking re-election, and state Sen. Robert Peters, who is running in Illinois' 2nd Congressional District, which is represents the city's south side and is currently held by a Democrat.
The event in Viroqua will be held at noon on Saturday, Aug. 23 at the Pierce Hill Performing Arts venue.
In a statement, Sanders said candidates like Cooke "understand the need for decent paying jobs, health care for all, and the end of a corrupt campaign finance system in which the ultra-wealthy buy politicians."A spokeswoman for Van Orden did not immediately have a reaction to Sanders' visit. Van Orden defeated Cooke 51% to 49% in the closest U.S. House race in November 2024.Sanders is a popular figure in Wisconsin among Democrats who have often favored him more than the party's presidential nominees. In 2016, he defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary and during the 2020 presidential contest, he outpaced his Democratic rivals — including Joe Biden — by double digits in popularity, according to a February 2020 poll by the Marquette University Law School.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bernie Sanders headed to Driftless Area to boost Rebecca Cooke in the 3rd Congressional District
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