Ex-SEAL Van Orden flips Wisconsin congressional seat to GOP
Republican Congressional candidate Derrick Van Orden is seen at Morning Star Dairy in rural Onalaska during an agriculture and rural issues roundtable hosted by the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Wisconsin on June 28, 2021, in Onalaska, Wis. (Peter Thomson/La Crosse Tribune via AP)
Former Navy SEAL Derrick Van Orden has defeated Democratic state Sen. Brad Pfaff to flip a Wisconsin congressional seat to Republicans, a boost to GOP designs on grabbing control of the House.
Van Orden’s victory also lands him a spot in the House less than two years after he was nearby on the day that insurrectionists violently breached the U.S. Capitol.
He acknowledged attending then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6 but denied taking any part in the attack that followed.
Pfaff had argued to voters that Van Orden’s presence in Washington should have been disqualifying.
Van Orden’s win comes after he almost broke through two years ago against Democratic Rep. Ron Kind, who retired.
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