Bernie Sanders heads to the Chippewa Valley to support Rebecca Cooke

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - The Dakota Ballroom in the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire was packed with people as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders spoke to the crowd.

In nine days, Sanders thinks that one of the biggest days in American history will happen.

“In my view, this is the most important midterm election in the modern history of our country, or maybe the history of our country,” Sanders said.

He was at UWEC supporting Rebecca Cooke in her bid for Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District seat.

“Things certainly feel bleak,” Cooke said. “It’s been a hard couple of years under this administration’s tariffs that have decimated our farmers’ bottom lines, a war in Iran that has prioritized recieving billions overseas instead of helping our rural hospitals to stay open or investing in American infrastructure.”

He spoke about Medicare for all, proposing a way to change the system in the United States.

“What we have got to do is change our healthcare system away from profiteering to a quality care system providing healthcare to every man woman and child,” Sanders said.

Sanders also spoke about misinformation on the internet.

“And how are we reaching the stage on the internet where so many people read and get their information, we don’t know truth from fiction,” Sanders said. “I go through the internet and I assume that half of what I say is a lie. And that’s pretty bad.”

Sanders is the latest in a long line of high-profile speakers who have shared a stage with the candidates which includes Kash Patel and Pete Hegseth, who have recently been in the Chippewa Valley to support Congressman Derrick Van Orden in this hotly contested race.

Van Orden sent a statement about the Cooke-Sanders rally:

“Rebecca Cooke wants Wisconsin voters to believe she’s the champion of working families, but she’s campaigning alongside millionaire socialist Bernie Sanders.

Bernie has spent his career pushing bigger government, higher taxes, and a socialist agenda while building his own personal fortune. That’s easy to do when you’re a career politician.

Wisconsin farmers, small business owners, and hardworking families don’t need an east coast millionaire politician telling them how to live their lives. They need a representative who will fight for their paychecks, protect their family farms, and put Wisconsin first.

Rebecca Cooke can lie about her working-class roots all she wants. Her choice of political allies tells you plenty about where she stands.”