Dem House Hopeful's Delayed Disclosure Reveals Soros-Linked Payments

A Democratic congressional candidate in Wisconsin who built her campaign around a working-class image waited until after her primary victory to reveal she was on the payroll of two left-leaning organizations with financial ties to George Soros' Open Society network.

Rebecca Cooke, the Democratic nominee in Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District, released her personal financial disclosure two days after the Aug. 13 primary. The form shows she received more than $5,000 apiece for work with Third Way and the Pipeline Fund, two groups that have pulled millions from Soros-backed grant-making operations.

Cooke has spent her campaign touting a resume as a waitress, small-business owner and nonprofit leader raised on a dairy farm. Her delayed disclosure raises questions about how well that story holds up under scrutiny.

Disclosure Came Only After the Primary

Cooke's financial form did not surface until two days after voters went to the polls, following an extension she requested from the clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives back in April. Candidates who raise or spend more than $5,000 for a House race are required to file a personal financial disclosure 30 days before the election.

Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., the incumbent Cooke is challenging, said the delay spoke for itself.

"For months, Democrats and Republicans across the Third District called on Cooke to release her financial disclosures. She had every opportunity to be transparent with voters. Instead, she chose to keep them hidden until after the primary," Van Orden said. "That tells Wisconsin voters everything they need to know about Rebecca Cooke's character. She was willing to deceive her own party to protect the political persona she built and gain political power."

Where the Money Comes From

The disclosure only lists that each fellowship paid more than $5,000, but Third Way confirmed Cooke received $30,000 for a project focused on elevating working-class voices. The Pipeline Fund declined to disclose its exact payment.

Both organizations have deep financial ties to the Soros network. The Open Society network awarded $1 million to Third Way's nonprofit research arm between 2023 and 2024, and the Foundation to Promote Open Society donated $500,000 grants to the Third Way Institute in both 2023 and 2024. The Pipeline Fund received $1.4 million directly from the Open Society Action Fund in 2024 and roughly $2.26 million from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, the liberal nonprofit network from which it spun off that same year.

Soros has poured more than $32 billion of his personal fortune into the Open Society Foundations, which his son Alex Soros has overseen since 2022.

Cooke's Defense

Cooke pushed back on the suggestion that the payments undercut her working-class credentials, saying she has always worn multiple hats to make ends meet.

"In addition to waitressing I worked on two projects related to getting more working class people to run for office and conducted research for an organization about how to better connect with working class voters," Cooke said. "There are unique challenges to running for office as a working class person with an hourly wage job and a full-time campaign schedule. For example, I'm one of the thousands of people in this district who can't afford health insurance."

Before entering the race, Cooke opened her own Democratic campaign consulting firm in 2015, working with eight state and federal campaigns between 2015 and 2021.

The National Republican Congressional Committee was less charitable. "Radical Rebecca Cooke is a paid political operative for far-left liberals and wants to push their socialist agenda," NRCC spokesman Zach Bannon said. "Commie Cooke may fit in at a Soros-funded consulting firm, but she is far too extreme to represent western Wisconsin."

What to Watch in the Third District

Wisconsin's 3rd District is one of the most closely watched House races in the country, and Van Orden is a top Democratic target in the GOP's narrow majority. The disclosure fight gives Republicans fresh ammunition heading into the fall.

Cooke won her primary over a rival backed by the Democratic establishment, and national Democrats have circled the seat as a pickup opportunity. Whether the Soros-linked payments become a defining issue of the general election remains to be seen, but the transparency questions are not going away.

The November matchup between Cooke and Van Orden will test whether a working-class message backed by D.C. money can win in rural western Wisconsin.