- Democratic Rep. Ron Kind is projected to win against Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District.
- The district is located in southwestern Wisconsin along the state’s border with Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota.
- Van Orden was spurred to run for office after Rep. Kind voted for the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
- Polls began closing in the district at 8 p.m. local time.
- See the live coverage and full results from all US House elections.
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Twelve-term incumbent Rep. Ron Kind is projected to retain his House seat against Republican challenger Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, Insider and Decision Desk HQ can report.
The candidates
Kind is an attorney and former special prosecutor for the La Crosse County prosecutor’s office. He has held his position in the House of Representatives since 1996.
He currently sits on the House Committee on Ways and Means, and previously sat on the Natural Resources Committee for 14 years. Kind’s 2020 campaign platform is centered around providing affordable healthcare to Americans, restoring fiscal accountability in Congress, and lowering the costs of education.
Kind is also a member and previously served as the chairman of the House New Democrat Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats that support fiscally responsible policies and bipartisanship in Congress. He voted against Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s bid for Speaker of the House in 2019.
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Van Orden is a military veteran and Navy SEAL of 26 years. Since retiring from the military, Van Orden has spent time acting and writing a book about his experiences in the military. He was inspired to run for office after Rep. Kind voted for President Donald Trump’s impeachment in December 2016.
Van Orden's campaign platform is focused on rebuilding Wisconsin's economy, fully funding police forces, and protecting farming and agricultural communities in Wisconsin and around the country.
The district
Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District is located in the southwestern region of the state along its border with Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. The 3rd District most notably includes the cities of La Crosse, Eau Claire, and much of the Wisconsin-side of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan region.
The district is also home to the counties of Adams, Buffalo, Crawford, Dunn, Eau Claire, Grant, La Crosse, Pepin, Pierce, Portage, Trempealeau, and Vernon, as well as portions of Chippewa, Jackson, Juneau, Monroe, Richland, and Wood counties.
The 3rd District flipped from voting for former President Barack Obama by 11 points over GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney in 2012 to backing Trump over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by four points in 2016, according to Daily Kos.
The money race
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Kind has raised over $2.5 million this cycle, spent over $3.9 million, and has around $936,000 in cash on hand while Van Orden has raised nearly $1.8 million, spent $1.7 million, and has around $66,000 in cash on hand.
What some of the experts said
The race between Kind and Van Orden was rated as "leans Democratic" by the Cook Political Report, "likely Democratic" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, and "safe Democratic" by Inside Elections.