U.S. 3rd Congressional District candidates: Ron Kind and Derrick Van Orden

Ron Kind (D)
INCUMBENT

DERRICK VAN ORDEN
(REPUBLICAN)

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX — Congressman Ron Kind (D-LaCrosse), representative for the U.S. 3rd Congressional District in Wisconsin, will face Republican challenger Derrick Van Orden (Hager City) in the November election.

The 3rd Congressional District includes the Counties of Adams, Buffalo, Chippewa, Crawford, Dunn, Eau Claire, Grant, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Monroe, Pepin, Pierce, Portage, Richland, Trempealeau, Vernon and Wood.

Kind and Van Orden were interviewed on the Wisconsin Public Radio show “Central Time” on October 19 by Central Time’s Kealey Bultena.

Congressman Kind has represented the 3rd Congressional District since 1997. He is a native of La Crosse and graduated from La Crosse Logan High School. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard, a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a degree in law from the University of Minnesota.

Derrick Van Orden is a retired Navy SEAL. He and his wife, Mary Jane, have been married for nearly 30 years, and they live on a small hobby farm in Hager City.

After growing up in a rural area, Van Orden joined the Navy when he was 18 years old and served for 26 years. He retired as a Navy SEAL Senior Chief and had five combat deployments and several other deployments. His first combat deployment was to Bosnia Herzegovina, and he also served in combat tours to Afghanistan and Iraq. Van Orden has served in Africa, Asia, Europe, and South and Central America as well.

Law enforcement

One of the questions Bultena asked the candidates concerned restoring trust in law enforcement following the civil unrest after the death of George Floyd in May and the shooting of Jacob Blake in August.

Kind, who noted he had served as a special prosecutor in Western Wisconsin and that his younger brother has been a police officer for 24 years, said he would advocate for increasing resources for de-escalation training and empirical bias training for police officers as well as providing other support for law enforcement officers.

Most law enforcement officers are outstanding public servants, but there seems to be increasing incidents of unarmed Black men being shot by police and that “needs to get fixed,” he said.

There is room for improvement, but police officers are not the enemy. Those who protect citizens are being vilified, and everyone must work together, Van Orden said.

COVID-19

Another question Bultena asked focused on curbing the spread of surging COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin and around the nation.

“This is an all-hands on deck moment,” Kind said, adding that we all have a responsibility to each other to follow the medical guidance.

Kind said he had recently completed a public service announcement about frequent hand washing, social distancing and wearing face masks.

COVID-19 is not a “Red issue or a blue issue, it is a red, white and blue issue,” he said.

A tailored response is needed for COVID-19 and not “one size fits all,” Van Orden said, adding that the economy must be opened safely.

Van Orden said he would make sure COVID relief funding was targeted in a “clean bill” that does not contain a wish list.

ACA

Bultena also asked what the candidates would do to protect those with pre-existing conditions since the Affordable Care Act is scheduled to come before the United States Supreme Court in November and could be struck down.

If President Trump and the Republicans are successful with a Supreme Court ruling, people with pre-existing conditions will not be protected and will either be denied coverage or charged more for their health insurance, Kind said, noting that before the ACA, being a woman was considered a pre-existing condition because women can become pregnant and give birth.

The ACA also put a prohibition on health insurance companies setting limits for annual and lifetime coverage and allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance plan until they are 26. The ACA provides tax credits, too, for low-income citizens to go on the exchange to buy health insurance, he said.

The constant political fight over the ACA must come to an end, Kind said.

If you look at the individual components of the ACA, there is wide bi-partisan support, he said.

We should acknowledge what is working with the ACA, fix what is not working, and work toward obtaining more affordable healthcare for all Americans, Kind said.

Van Orden said he is in favor of repealing the Affordable Care Act.

Van Orden also said he is a 100 percent service-connected disabled veteran and has children with serious orthopedic issues, so he would never sign onto any program that would not protect pre-existing conditions.

We have to work together to take care of those who need help, but we must also get the government out of private industries, such as insurance companies, he said.

When asked what he would do if the ACA is repealed, Van Orden said Congress must come up with a healthcare plan that covers pre-existing conditions and moves government out of private healthcare.