2026 forecast · Wisconsin 3rd

Rebecca Cooke is slightly favored to win Wisconsin's 3rd District.

Rebecca Cooke vs Derrick Van Orden. The model has Cooke ahead by 3.0 points, winning 70 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Lean DModel D +3.0Polls R +0.0Updated October 22, 2026
Rebecca Cooke
Democrat
50.4%
189,530 projected votes
Derrick Van Orden
Republican
47.4%
178,072 projected votes
70%Cooke
30%Orden
Cooke favoredEach square is one simulated election night, Cooke wins about 70 of 100
RatingLean D70% chance for Cooke
Model marginD +3.0Polls R +0.0
80 percent rangeD +10.3 to R +4.12,000 simulations
Projected votes375,948Cooke 50.4%

The district map

Every district in the state, shaded by its rating

Wisconsin districts

8 districts
Safe DLikely DLean DToss upLean RLikely RSafe R

Vote share

Each candidate's projected share and the range of 80 percent of simulations

Rebecca CookeDemocrat · 70% to win
50.4%
Derrick Van OrdenRepublican · 30% to win
47.4%

Scale runs from 25 to 75 percent. The dot is the forecast, the band is the 80 percent range and the brighter tick marks 50 percent.

Projected district vote

375,948 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Rebecca Cooke D189,53050.4%
Derrick Van Orden R178,07247.4%
Alexander Kent I8,3462.2%
Total375,948100%

Each candidate's expected vote in the On Point simulation, at the forecast's projected turnout.

The trend

Each side's chance of winning over the forecast's recent updates

0%25%50%75%100%70% Cooke30% Orden14 updates agoToday

Polling

Every poll in the average, and how the model reads it

The Wisconsin governor polling average
40%41%42%43%44%45%46%47%48%49%50%51%Aug 7Aug 14Aug 21Aug 28Sep 4Sep 11Sep 18Sep 25Oct 2Oct 948.0Crowley43.7Tiffany
The line is the On Point average: a robust LOWESS fit through the polls, weighted by recency, sample, voter screen and pollster grade, refit three times so outliers count for lessDot size is each poll's weight todayHover or use the arrow keys to read any day
What moves the average today
Platform Communications (R)Aug 13 · 500 LV · NR18%Crowley +4.0
Marquette UniversityAug 20 · 738 LV · NR17%Crowley +5.0
Z to A Research for Rust Belt Rising (D)Oct 1 · 662 RV · NR17%Crowley +5.0
TIPP Insights (R)Aug 18 · 1,199 LV · A17%Crowley +4.0
Marquette UniversitySep 23 · 750 LV · NR15%Crowley +3.0
YouGov for City Forward CollectiveOct 9 · 1,715 A · C15%Crowley +4.0
Every other poll together: 0.6%

This is the same On Point polling average as the full average page. The forecast reads the polls through its own Election Day projection, shown as the On Point average in the table below, and blends it with partisan lean and fundamentals.

Polls of the race

Full average
PollsterSampleAgeMargin
On Point averageWeighted averageR +0.0

Each margin is the poll as the pollster published it. The forecast counts every poll after its house effect and the undecided split, which is what the trail above shows; hover a margin for the counted value. Lean R and Lean D mark partisan leaning firms.

Model margin
Cooke +3.0
Chance of winning
Rebecca Cooke70%
Derrick Van Orden30%
Simulated vote
Rebecca Cooke50.4%
Derrick Van Orden47.4%
Alexander Kent2.2%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanD +7.0
FundamentalsD +3.1
With pollsD +2.9
Early vote turnoutD +0.2
With early voteD +3.0

Read from 0 ballots cast so far in Wisconsin, against the party mix the forecast expected of them, with similar states and primary turnout. Early vote tracker

How we got here

From the state's partisan lean to the forecast, one stage at a time

D +10R +10Partisan leanthe state's baselineD +7.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesD +3.1With pollsaverage R +0.0D +2.9With early voteturnout so farD +3.0
Methodology
Every county is rebuilt by simulating voters going to the polls, 2,000 times, from On Point Polling survey data, past results, and the polling average. How the model works.