Rebecca Cooke, the liberal fundraiser-turned-congressional candidate challenging Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, is under fire after hosting a fundraiser with former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel — a figure the Van Orden campaign is calling “a key architect of Democrats’ sanctuary city policies.”
The event comes as Cooke faces mounting questions about her immigration record, including a viral moment in which she allegedly fled when asked on camera, “Why did you call ICE disgusting?”
Emanuel’s Sanctuary City Legacy
Emanuel, who served as Chief of Staff in the Obama White House, made national headlines in 2016 when he declared that “Chicago is and will remain a Sanctuary City.” The Van Orden campaign argues those policies have had lasting and deadly consequences.
“Emanuel served as the chief of staff in the Obama-Biden White House and helped to shape an administration that embraced disastrous open-border policies and expanded catch-and-release practices that have resulted in the senseless deaths of innocent Americans,” the campaign stated. (RELATED: Wisconsin Democrats Reintroduce Physician-Assisted Suicide Bill)
The campaign specifically cited the recent killing of 18-year-old Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman in Chicago. “According to DHS, the Venezuelan national was caught and released at the border in 2023 and later released again by local authorities after a prior arrest before murdering the innocent 18-year-old college student,” the release stated.
Van Orden Campaign Attacks Cooke’s Immigration Record
The Van Orden campaign outlined what it calls Cooke’s “radical immigration record,” including that she endorsed Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, who signed an executive order expanding sanctuary city policies, called immigration enforcement “disgusting and wrong,” and refuses to answer whether criminal illegal immigrants should be deported. The campaign also claims Cooke actively campaigns against Wisconsin’s voter ID amendment.
Van Orden campaign spokeswoman Grace Kim said, “Cooke is doubling down and embracing the same reckless policies that have cost innocent Americans their lives at the hands of illegal aliens. Cooke’s radical beliefs threaten the very communities Wisconsinites call home. The proof is right in front of us.”
This is Cooke’s second run against Van Orden, a former Navy SEAL chief, in the 3rd Congressional District race. Cooke has not publicly responded to the campaign’s allegations. (RELATED: Trump’s Education Department Investigates Wisconsin School District Over Transgender Bathroom Policy)
