Derrick Van Orden

Why they say you should vote for them

The candidate's own case to voters, summarized from their campaign and public statements.

• Points to his support for what he calls the Working Families Tax Cuts, saying they put more money back in the pockets of working families, seniors and small businesses.[3],[1]
• Says he brings the leadership skills from 26 years in the Navy, including 21 as a SEAL, to working for every person in his district regardless of party.[1]
• Points to federal funding he says he secured for safe drinking water in western Wisconsin and $350 million to move firefighting foams away from PFAS.[1]

Background

• U.S. Representative, Wisconsin District 3, U.S. House of Representatives · 2023–present[2],[4],[7]
• Chair, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs · 2025–present[1],[5]
• Pleaded guilty in December 2021 after airport police found a loaded handgun in his carry-on bag at a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, security checkpoint that August; the court imposed a $300 civil penalty, a firearm safety course and unsupervised probation through December 2022, and his campaign called the incident accidental, Iowa court · 2021[9],[10]
• Republican nominee for U.S. House, Wisconsin District 3 (lost to Rep. Ron Kind, 51% to 49%), 2020 general election · 2020[4],[8]
• Co-owner, Butternut Cafe, Butternut, Wis. · 2017–2019[2],[4]
• Author, A Book of Man: A Navy SEAL's Guide to the Lost Art of Manhood · 2015[2],[4]
• Navy SEAL; retired as Senior Chief, U.S. Navy · 1988–2014[2],[5]

Education

• B.S., Excelsior University[4],[5]

Where they stand

• Taxes
  Supported the 2025 reconciliation law's tax provisions, which he calls the Working Families Tax Cuts, saying they let families keep more of their money.[1],[3]
• Immigration
  Supports fully funding ICE and CBP and deporting immigrants in the country illegally who commit crimes; also supports H-2A guest-worker changes in the Agricultural Workforce Reform Act of 2025 to help farms hire workers.[1],[3]
• Energy & Environment
  Says data centers must have local buy-in, cannot be built on farmland, must cause zero increase in household electric rates and must use closed-loop cooling.[1],[3]
• Agriculture
  Serves on the House Agriculture Committee and says he passed the Dairy Business Innovation Act and championed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which became law.[1]
• Health Care
  Says he would protect people with preexisting conditions when the Affordable Care Act is fully repealed and replaced with a more competitive system, and points to funding for BadgerCare and rural hospitals.[1]

Voting record

A selection of notable recorded votes. Not a complete record.

In their words