Like last year, two women already among US House candidates in Wisconsin’s 3rd District

The race for US House out of the La Crosse area became more crowded last week, when Tara Johnson entered the Democratic primary in the 3rd District.

That entry now puts two female candidates in the 2024 race, in a district which has not yet sent a woman to Congress.

Johnson’s announcement came shortly after rival Rebecca Cooke campaigned in La Crosse over Labor Day. Cooke said that voters she spoke with in La Crosse have worries about the economy.

“Folks have a lot of concerns over the rising cost of everyday goods, inflation, you know, how to afford groceries, how to afford gas at the pump,” Cooke told WIZM News.

Cooke says health care is another issue on the minds of area voters. “One of the things I’d like to do if elected to Congress is expand Medicare to cover vision, dental, and hearing, the very things that deteriorate as folks age,” she says.

A third candidate, Aaron Nytes, also is running as a Democrat in the 3rd to challenge Republican incumbent Derrick Van Orden in next year’s race.

The presence of two women in the Democratic primary for Congress echoes the 3rd District race last year, when Cooke and Deb McGrath were both contenders in a four-way House primary won by Brad Pfaff. Recently, Pfaff announced that he would seek re-election to his seat in the Wisconsin Senate, rather than running for Congress.