Wisconsin Congressional Candidate’s Delayed Financial Disclosure Exposes Payments From Soros-Aligned Organizations

Rebecca Cooke, a waitress-turned-congressional candidate in Wisconsin’s third district, received more than $5,000 each from two progressive organizations with financial connections to billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundation network, according to a personal financial disclosure filed two days after the August 13 primary. Cooke has positioned herself as a working-class representative, emphasizing her background in food service, entrepreneurship and nonprofit work on a family dairy farm. The delayed disclosure revealed her prior employment with Third Way and the Pipeline Fund, both entities substantially funded through Soros-linked channels.

Third Way’s nonprofit research arm received $1 million from the Open Society network between 2023 and 2024, while the Pipeline Fund obtained $1.4 million directly from the Open Society Action Fund in 2024, according to tax records. A Third Way spokesperson confirmed to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Cooke earned $30,000 for work on a project designed to amplify working-class perspectives in policy discussions. The Pipeline Fund, which trains and recruits progressive candidates for state and local races, similarly confirmed Cooke’s 2025 contract work supporting their mission of building representative democracy.

Cooke’s disclosure forms covered January 1, 2025, through July 14, 2026, but provided only ranges rather than exact payment amounts. The candidate requested an extension from the U.S. House clerk in April, delaying public access to her financial records until after primary voting concluded. Federal regulations require House candidates who raise or spend more than $5,000 to file disclosures 30 days before elections.

Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden criticized Cooke’s timing, asserting her delayed transparency undermined voter access to information during the primary campaign. The National Republican Congressional Committee attacked Cooke as a “paid political operative” advancing a “socialist agenda,” while Cooke herself defended her employment history as evidence of genuine working-class struggles, including her inability to afford health insurance while maintaining an hourly wage job alongside full-time campaign activities.