Third District race unusually nasty

 
We are seeing something in the race to represent the La Crosse area in Congress we don’t see very often. The democratic primary race has suddenly become a bitter battle. There are three candidates running in hopes of taking on incumbent Republican Derrick Van Orden, and two of the democratic candidates are suddenly attacking each other with their ads. State Representative Katrina Shankland has criticized her opponent, Rebecca Cooke, for being inexperienced as a lawmaker. But isn’t that true of every candidate who has never held public office? It was true of Shankland before she was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly. It is hard to pass legislation if you are not yet in office. But the biggest criticism comes from Shankland who is bemoaning the entry of PAC money into the race on behalf of Cooke. Cooke’s ads criticize Shankland for voting with Republicans to block Governor Evers’ efforts to expand BadgerCare. Predictably, the dark-money ads use shadowy imagery to suggest Shankland isn’t the best candidate. Even the Third District Democrats criticized Cooke for accepting the PAC money and using it to smear her opponent. It is rare to see this level of political smearing during a primary. They usually show at least enough restraint to save it for the general election.