Republican Derrick Van Orden defeats Brad Pfaff in Wisconsin's 3rd District, flipping seat

After a race that was closer than many expected, Republicans have flipped Wisconsin’s battleground 3rd Congressional District from blue to red.

Republican retired Navy SEAL Derrick Van Orden defeated Democratic state Sen. Brad Pfaff Wednesday morning, putting the rural western seat held by retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Kind since 1997 into Republican control.

Van Orden, in his second campaign for the seat, led Pfaff by four points with more than 93% of the vote counted when the Associated Press called the race. Republicans now represent six of the state’s eight congressional districts.

“I make a promise to you: I will be the hardest working Congressman you have ever had in this district," Van Orden said in a victory statement shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday, before the contest was called. "I look forward to working with anyone who will put the Mission first, and the Mission is America.”

The GOP victory comes in a district that has trended toward Republicans in recent years. Van Orden lost to Kind by fewer than 3 percentage points in 2020 and continued to campaign ever since. It's a gain for Republicans as the party pushes toward the brink of regaining control of the House.

Endorsed by former President Donald Trump, Van Orden leaned heavily on his military background and attempted to tie Pfaff to President Joe Biden and what he called failed Democratic policies. In television ads, he zeroed in on crime and 40-year high inflation while claiming Pfaff "backed Joe Biden 100% of the time."

Still, Van Orden offered few details of his plans to deal with the issues he highlighted and largely avoided interviews with the media. There was no debate in the race after Van Orden declined a challenge from Pfaff.

Van Orden drew criticism throughout the last few years for a number of controversies, including his presence at the U.S. Capitol during the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. Pfaff, for his part, made Van Orden's ties to Jan. 6 and the Republican's temperament centerpieces of his own campaign.

Pfaff and his allies also tried to paint Van Orden as out of touch with western Wisconsin values and who moved into the district to run for political office.

'A thin skin': Questions over Derrick Van Orden's temperament color race for key Wisconsin congressional district

The majority of voters in the rural district that Obama won in 2012 but Trump carried in 2016 and 2020, however, did not appear to be swayed as Pfaff fell to Van Orden, who had a sizable fundraising advantage over his Democratic challenger.

In addition to out-raising Pfaff by a factor of nearly four, Van Orden was the beneficiary of outside support in the race.

Republican groups like the Congressional Leadership Fund, a PAC aligned with the House GOP leadership, poured money into advertising in the race as national Democrats largely left Pfaff to his own devices. Neither the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee nor the House Majority PAC, Democrats’ biggest outside group for congressional campaigns, invested in the race.

The slim margins in the race are likely to bring that lack of national Democratic support under the scrutiny of Democrats in the state.

In a statement late Wednesday morning, Pfaff noted that the race was close despite the fundraising gap. He vowed to continue to fight for the community at the state level.

“This campaign has been about one thing: bringing western and central Wisconsin values to Congress and bringing real results home to this district," Pfaff said. "We left it all on the field, and I am so proud of the race that we ran."

Van Orden's victory pushes Wisconsin's congressional delegation further to the right. And it could also contribute to a growing partisan divide within the delegation that current and former members say has been increasingly strained in recent years.

Democratic U.S. Rep Mark Pocan frequently sparred with Van Orden on Twitter over the last several months. The exchanges on occasion became personal and involved name-calling.

"I am looking forward to working with you when I am elected in November," Van Orden wrote to Pocan after one spat in June. "In fact, I am super excited."

"We can have lunch at the caf."

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Derrick Van Orden, Brad Pfaff Wisconsin midterm election results