New reporting from Up North News exposes the extent to which D.C. and wealthy donors have changed Derrick Van Orden in a short period of time from a candidate who ran on bipartisanship to a congressman who needs little convincing to vote in lockstep with Republican party leadership. In 2025, Van Orden voted with Speaker Mike Johnson over 97% of the time despite criticizing former WI-03 Rep. Ron Kind for voting with his party 95% of the time. The report shows that the more money Van Orden gets from Republican leaders, the more partisan he becomes.
Pat Kreitlow, May 15, 2026
