Kind issues victory statement in tight 3rd District contest with Van Orden

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — U.S. Rep. Ron Kind of La Crosse, who has represented Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District for 23 years, apparently can boost that to 25 that role after defeating Republican challenger Derrick Van Orden Tuesday.

Van Orden

Kind garnered 51.5 percent of the votes cast, to Van Orden’s 48.5 percent. Those percentages are based on a vote tally of 385,506, with 99.5 percent of the district’s 605 precincts reporting.
The 57-year-old Kind issued a victory statement for his 13th term shortly before 5:30 a.m. Wednesday saying, in part, “It’s been the honor of my life to represent the area where I was born and raised and where Tawni and I have raised our family.”
Expressing gratitude to 3rd District voters, he said, “I know firsthand the challenges working families in Wisconsin face, and I am committed to fighting for the farmers, veterans, families, businesses, and workers who move our state forward.”
Kind counts expanding broadband access in rural areas and supporting the $1.5 trillion Moving Forward Act to bolster the nation’s infrastructure among his achievements in Congress.
A strong supporter of the Affordable Care Act, Kind also voted for legislation that permits Medicare to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies, thereby lowering prescription prices for seniors.
Kind, who says he has given back more than $2 million from his office budgets to pay down the federal debt, also advocated ensuring that the Paycheck Protection Program for COVID-19 relief has the oversight to ensure that the money goes to Wisconsin small businesses instead of billionaires and big corporations.
Van Orden, a retired Navy SEAL who lives on a small hobby farm near Hager City, has said House Democrats’ vote to impeach President Donald Trump on Dec. 18 propelled his candidacy.