Wisconsin New Members 2023

Rep.-elect Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.-3)

DATE OF BIRTH: Sept. 15, 1969
RESIDENCE: Prairie Du Chien, Wis.
OCCUPATION: retired
EDUCATION: B.S., Excelsior College
FAMILY: wife, Sara Jane Van Orden; four children

• Republican Derrick Van Orden beat Democrat Brad Pfaff to represent Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, turning the longtime Democratic district red.

Van Orden will replace retiring Democratic Rep. Ron Kind, who has held the House seat since 1997. The district has shifted right in recent years, voting for former President Trump in 2016 and 2020 despite its Democratic congressman.

Van Orden ran for the southwestern Wisconsin district in 2020, narrowly losing to Kind. Before getting involved in politics, Van Orden served in the Navy for 26 years, enlisting at age 18, going on five combat deployments and retiring as a Navy SEAL senior chief. 

After retiring from the military, Van Orden worked as a consultant to Fortune 500 companies before retiring to a farm with his wife. Together they operated the Butternut Café for two years.

— Julia Shapero