Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district

Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district covers most of the Driftless Area in southwestern and western Wisconsin. The district includes the cities of Eau Claire, La Crosse, and Stevens Point, as well as many Wisconsin exurbs of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It borders the states of Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. Republican Derrick Van Orden has represented the district since 2023.

Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district
Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative	Derrick Van Orden R–Prairie du Chien
Area	13,565.50 sq mi (35,134.5 km2)
Distribution	56.85% rural 43.15% urban
Population (2023)	739,552
Median household income	$69,286[1]
Ethnicity	89.1% White[2] 3.3% Hispanic 3.1% Two or more races 2.3% Asian 1.2% Black 0.6% Native American 0.3% other
Cook PVI	R+3[3]

The political nature of the district is moderate, given its combination of an overall rural and suburban character counterbalanced by two significant urban centers (Eau Claire and La Crosse) and the Twin Cities suburbs. It historically elected moderate Republicans; before Ron Kind's 1996 victory, only two Democrats represented it in the 20th century. Al Gore, John Kerry, and Barack Obama all carried the district at the presidential level; it then narrowly voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and again in 2020 with slightly increased margins, as a result, the Cook Partisan Voting Index adjusted the district's partisan lean in 2021 from "even" to R+4.

Composition

By county

County	Pop.	Share
La Crosse	120,784	16.39%
Eau Claire	105,710	14.35%
Portage	70,377	9.55%
Grant	51,938	7.05%
Dunn	45,440	6.17%
Wood	43,820	5.95%
Pierce	42,212	5.73%
Monroe	41,589	5.65%
Chippewa	35,111	4.77%
Trempealeau	30,760	4.18%
Vernon	30,714	4.17%
Juneau	20,806	2.82%
Adams	20,654	2.80%
Jackson	19,088	2.59%
Richland	17,304	2.35%
Crawford	16,113	2.19%
Buffalo	13,317	1.81%
Pepin	7,318	0.99%
Sauk	3,661	0.50%

By community

For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties, towns, and municipalities:^[4]

Adams County (20)

All 20 towns and municipalities

Buffalo County (23)

All 23 towns and municipalities

Chippewa County (7)

Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire (shared with Eau Claire County), Hallie, Howard, Lafayette, Lake Hallie, Wheaton

Crawford County (22)

All 22 towns and municipalities

Dunn County (30)

All 30 towns and municipalities

Eau Claire County (18)

All 18 towns and municipalities

Grant County (52)

All 52 towns and municipalities

Jackson County (21)

Albion, Alma, Alma Center, Black River Falls, Brockway, Curran, Franklin, Garfield, Hixton (town), Hixton (village), Irving, Komensky, Manchester, Melrose (town), Melrose (village), Merrillan (part; also 7th), Millston, North Bend, Northfield, Springfield, Taylor

Juneau County (23)

Camp Douglas, Clearfield (part; also 7th), Elroy, Fountain, Germantown (part; also 7th), Hustler, Kildare, Lemonweir, Lindina, Lisbon, Lyndon, Lyndon Station, Marion, Mauston, New Lisbon, Orange, Plymouth, Seven Mile Creek, Summit, Union Center, Wisconsin Dells (part; also 2nd and 6th; shared with Adams, Columbia, and Sauk counties), Wonewoc (town), Wonewoc (village)

La Crosse County (18)

All 18 towns and municipalities

Monroe County (29)

Adrian, Angelo, Cashton, Clifton, Glendale, Grant, Greenfield, Kendall, Jefferson, Kendall, Lafayette, Leon, Little Falls, Melvina, New Lyme, Norwalk, Oakdale (town), Oakdale (village), Portland, Ridgeville, Sheldon, Sparta (city), Sparta (town), Tomah (city), Tomah (town), Wellington, Wells, Wilton (town), Wilton (village)

Pepin County (11)

All 11 towns and municipalities

Pierce County (25)

All 25 towns and municipalities

Portage County (28)

All 28 towns and municipalities

Richland County (22)

All 22 towns and municipalities

Sauk County (5)

Ironton (town) (part; also 2nd), Ironton (village), La Valle (town), La Valle (village), Woodland

Trempealeau County (26)

All 26 towns and municipalities

Vernon County (33)

All 33 towns and municipalities

Wood County (16)

Biron, Cranmoor, Grand Rapids, Milladore (town), Milladore (village), Nekoosa, Port Edwards (town), Port Edwards (village), Rudolph (town), Rudolph (village), Saratoga, Seneca, Sherry, Sigel, Vesper, Wisconsin Rapids

List of members representing the district

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	District
District established March 4, 1849
James Duane Doty (Menasha)	Democratic	March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851	31st 32nd	Elected in 1848. Re-elected in 1850. Retired.	Brown, Calumet, Columbia, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Jefferson, Manitowoc, Marquette, Sheboygan, Washington, & Winnebago counties (& Door, Green Lake, Kewaunee, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano, Waupaca, & Waushara counties created from this territory during the 1850s)
	Independent Democratic	March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853
John B. Macy (Fond du Lac)	Democratic	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855	33rd	Elected in 1852. Lost re-election.
Charles Billinghurst (Juneau)	Opposition	March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857	34th 35th	Elected in 1854. Re-elected in 1856. Lost re-election.
	Republican	March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859
Charles H. Larrabee (Horicon)	Democratic	March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861	36th	Elected in 1858. Lost re-election.
A. Scott Sloan (Beaver Dam)	Republican	March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1863	37th	Elected in 1860. Retired.
Amasa Cobb (Mineral Point)	Republican	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1871	38th 39th 40th 41st	Elected in 1862. Re-elected in 1864. Re-elected in 1866. Re-elected in 1868. Retired.	Crawford, Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, Richland, & Sauk counties
J. Allen Barber (Lancaster)	Republican	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1875	42nd 43rd	Elected in 1870. Re-elected in 1872. Retired.
					Crawford, Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, & Richland counties
Henry S. Magoon (Darlington)	Republican	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877	44th	Elected in 1874. Lost renomination.
George Cochrane Hazelton (Boscobel)	Republican	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1883	45th 46th 47th	Elected in 1876. Re-elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Lost renomination.
Burr W. Jones (Madison)	Democratic	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885	48th	Elected in 1882. Lost re-election.	Dane, Grant, Green, Iowa, & Lafayette counties
Robert M. La Follette (Madison)	Republican	March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1891	49th 50th 51st	Elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Re-elected in 1888. Lost re-election.
Allen R. Bushnell (Madison)	Democratic	March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893	52nd	Elected in 1890. Retired.
Joseph W. Babcock (Necedah)	Republican	March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1907	53rd 54th 55th 56th 57th 58th 59th	Elected in 1892. Re-elected in 1894. Re-elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Lost re-election.	Adams, Crawford, Grant, Iowa, Juneau, Richland, Sauk, & Vernon counties
					Crawford, Grant, Iowa, Juneau, Richland, Sauk, & Vernon counties
James William Murphy (Platteville)	Democratic	March 4, 1907 – March 3, 1909	60th	Elected in 1906. Lost re-election.
Arthur W. Kopp (Platteville)	Republican	March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1913	61st 62nd	Elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Retired.
John M. Nelson (Madison)	Republican	March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1919	63rd 64th 65th	Redistricted from the 2nd district and re-elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Lost renomination.	Crawford, Dane, Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, & Richland counties
James G. Monahan (Darlington)	Republican	March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1921	66th	Elected in 1918. Lost renomination.
John M. Nelson (Madison)	Republican	March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1933	67th 68th 69th 70th 71st 72nd	Elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Lost renomination.
Gardner R. Withrow (La Crosse)	Republican	March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935	73rd 74th 75th	Redistricted from the 7th district and re-elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Lost re-election.	Crawford, Grant, Iowa, Juneau, La Crosse, Lafayette, Monroe, Richland, Sauk, & Vernon counties
	Progressive	January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1939
Harry W. Griswold (West Salem)	Republican	January 3, 1939 – July 4, 1939	76th	Elected in 1938. Died.
Vacant		July 4, 1939 – January 3, 1941
William H. Stevenson (La Crosse)	Republican	January 3, 1941 – January 3, 1949	77th 78th 79th 80th	Elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Lost renomination.
Gardner R. Withrow (La Crosse)	Republican	January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1961	81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th	Elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Retired.
Vernon Wallace Thomson (Richland Center)	Republican	January 3, 1961 – December 31, 1974	87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd	Elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Lost re-election and resigned early.
					Buffalo, Crawford, Grant, Iowa, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Lafayette, Monroe, Pepin, Pierce, Richland, Sauk, Trempealeau, & Vernon counties
					Barron, Buffalo, Crawford, Dunn, Eau Claire, Grant, Jackson, La Crosse, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Richland, St. Croix, Trempealeau, & Vernon counties & most of Monroe County Monroe County Town of Adrian Town of Angelo Town of Grant Town of Greenfield Town of Jefferson Town of Lafayette Town of La Grange Town of Leon Town of Lincoln Town of Little Falls Town of New Lyme Town of Portland Town of Ridgeville Town of Sheldon Town of Sparta Town of Tomah Town of Wells Town of Wilton Village of Cashton Village of Melvina Village of Norwalk Village of Wilton City of Sparta City of Tomah
Vacant		December 31, 1974 – January 3, 1975	93rd
Alvin Baldus (Menomonie)	Democratic	January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1981	94th 95th 96th	Elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Lost re-election.
Steve Gunderson (Osseo)	Republican	January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1997	97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th	Elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Retired.
					Barron, Buffalo, Crawford, Dunn, Eau Claire, Grant, Jackson, La Crosse, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Richland, St. Croix, Trempealeau, & Vernon counties & most of Clark County, most of Grant County, southern of Polk County, & western of Richland County Clark County Town of Beaver Town of Butler Town of Dewhurst Town of Eaton Town of Foster Town of Fremont Town of Grant Town of Hendren Town of Hewett Town of Levis Town of Loyal Town of Lynn Town of Mead Town of Mentor Town of Pine Valley Town of Seif Town of Sherman Town of Sherwood Town of Unity Town of Warner Town of Washburn Town of Weston Town of York Village of Grantors City of Greenwood City of Loyal City of Neillsville Grant County Town of Beetown Town of Bloomington Town of Boscobel Town of Cassville Town of Castle Rock Town of Clifton Town of Ellenboro Town of Fennimore Town of Glen Haven Town of Harrison Town of Hickory Grove Town of Jamestown Town of Liberty Town of Lima Town of Little Grant Town of Marion Town of Millville Town of Mt. Hope Town of Mt. Ida Town of Muscoda Town of North Lancaster Town of Paris Town of Patch Grove Town of Platteville Town of Potosi Town of South Lancaster Town of Waterloo Town of Watterstown Town of Wingville Town of Woodman Town of Wyalusing Village of Bagley Village of Bloomington Village of Blue River Village of Cassville Village of Dickeyville Village of Mt. Hope Village of Patch Grove Village of Potosi Village of Tennyson Village of Woodman the part of the village of Muscoda in the county City of Boscobel City of Fennimore City of Lancaster City of Platteville Polk County Town of Alden Town of Apple River Town of Balsam Lake Town of Beaver Town of Black Brook Town of Clayton Town of Clear Lake Town of Farmington Town of Garfield Town of Johnstown Town of Lincoln Town of Osceola Town of St. Croix Falls Village of Balsam Lake Village of Centuria Village of Clayton Village of Clear Lake Village of Dresser Village of Osceola the part of the village of Turtle Lake in the county City of Amery City of St. Croix Falls Richland County Town of Akan Town of Bloom Town of Dayton Town of Eagle Town of Forest Town of Henrietta Town of Marshall Town of Richland Town of Richwood Town of Rockbridge Town of Sylvan Village of Boaz Village of Yuba the part of the village of Viola in the county City of Richland Center
					1993–2003
Ron Kind (La Crosse)	Democratic	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2023	105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th	Elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Retired.
					2003–2013
					2013–2023
Derrick Van Orden (Prairie du Chien)	Republican	January 3, 2023 – present	118th 119th	Elected in 2022. Re-elected in 2024.	2023–present

Recent election results

2002 district boundaries (2002–2011)

Year	Date	Elected				Defeated				Total	Plurality
2002[5]	Nov. 5	Ron Kind (inc)	Democratic	131,038	62.82%	Bill Arndt	Rep.	69,955	33.54%	208,581	61,083
						Jeff Zastrow	Lib.	6,674	3.20%
2004[6]	Nov. 2	Ron Kind (inc)	Democratic	204,856	56.43%	Dale W. Schultz	Rep.	157,866	43.49%	363,008	46,990
2006[7]	Nov. 7	Ron Kind (inc)	Democratic	163,322	64.79%	Paul R. Nelson	Rep.	88,523	35.12%	252,087	74,799
2008[8]	Nov. 4	Ron Kind (inc)	Democratic	225,208	63.19%	Paul Stark	Rep.	122,760	34.44%	356,400	102,448
						Kevin Barrett	Lib.	8,236	2.31%
2010[9]	Nov. 2	Ron Kind (inc)	Democratic	126,380	50.28%	Dan Kapanke	Rep.	116,838	46.49%	251,340	9,542
						Michael Krsiean	Ind.	8,001	3.18%

2011 district boundaries (2012–2021)

Year	Date	Elected				Defeated				Total	Plurality
2012[10]	Nov. 6	Ron Kind (inc)	Democratic	217,712	64.08%	Ray Boland	Rep.	121,713	35.82%	339,764	95,999
2014[11]	Nov. 4	Ron Kind (inc)	Democratic	155,368	56.46%	Tony Kurtz	Rep.	119,540	43.44%	275,161	35,828
						Ken Van Doren (write-in)	Ind.	128	0.05%
2016[12]	Nov. 8	Ron Kind (inc)	Democratic	257,401	98.86%	Ryan Peterson (write-in)	Rep.	169	0.06%	260,370	254,601
2018[13]	Nov. 6	Ron Kind (inc)	Democratic	187,888	59.65%	Steve Toft	Rep.	126,980	40.31%	314,989	60,908
2020[14]	Nov. 3	Ron Kind (inc)	Democratic	199,870	51.30%	Derrick Van Orden	Rep.	189,524	48.64%	389,618	10,346

2022 district boundaries (2022–2031)

Year	Date	Elected				Defeated				Total	Plurality
2022[15]	Nov. 8	Derrick Van Orden	Republican	164,743	51.82%	Brad Pfaff	Dem.	152,977	48.12%	317,922	11,766
2024	Nov. 5	Derrick Van Orden	Republican	212,064	51.3%	Rebecca Cooke	Dem.	200,808	48.6%	413,181	11,256

Recent election results from statewide races

Year	Office	Results[16][17][18][19][20][21][22]
2008	President	Obama 59% - 39%
2010	Senate	Johnson 50% - 48%
	Governor	Walker 51% - 47%
	Secretary of State	La Follette 53% - 47%
	Attorney General	Van Hollen 56% - 44%
	Treasurer	Schuller 51% - 49%
2012	President	Obama 56% - 44%
	Senate	Baldwin 53% - 44%
	Governor (recall)	Walker 52% - 47%
2014	Governor	Walker 50% - 48%
	Secretary of State	La Follette 52% - 44%
	Attorney General	Schimel 50% - 47%
	Treasurer	Sartori 47% - 46%
2016	President	Trump 49% - 44%
	Senate	Johnson 49% - 47%
2018	Senate	Baldwin 56% - 44%
	Governor	Evers 50% - 48%
	Secretary of State	La Follette 53% - 47%
	Attorney General	Kaul 50% - 48%
	Treasurer	Godlewski 51% - 46%
2020	President	Trump 51% - 47%
2022	Senate	Johnson 53% - 47%
	Governor	Evers 50% - 49%
	Secretary of State	Loudenbeck 50% - 46%
	Attorney General	Toney 50.4% - 49.5%
	Treasurer	Leiber 51% - 46%
2024	President	Trump 53% - 45%
	Senate	Hovde 51% - 47%

See also

• United States portal

• Wisconsin's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts