Jim Jordan joins Van Orden at Menards overtime tax event
jim jordan joined Derrick Van Orden at the Menards Distribution Center in Eau Claire on Friday as Van Orden highlighted no tax on overtime and tips. The visit added another high-profile stop in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, where Van Orden’s seat is up for grabs in November.
Menards Distribution Center
Van Orden used the appearance to push the working families tax cut and jobs act, the law that signed the overtime and tips tax cuts into place. He told the crowd, “The third congressional district of the state of Wisconsin is the greatest representation of rural America, of any congressional district in the entire country. So, we work with our hands here and we produce products that feed the world. We also produce products that make your life better through our small to medium manufacturers. So that’s why everyone from the executive branch is coming here, because we truly represent a cross-section of America,”
The event put the tax message in front of workers at a distribution center rather than in a campaign hall, with the Menards stop serving as the backdrop for Van Orden’s broader pitch. The law he cited is also known as Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, and the overtime and tips tax cuts were part of that package.
Wisconsin's 3rd District
The district is already central to the November fight. Rebecca Cooke and Emily Berge are seeking to unseat Van Orden, and Berge used a statement after Friday’s event to tie the visit to a larger argument about costs and voting records.
“I have traveled across the 19 counties of the 3rd and spoken with thousands of folks who have been harmed by the One Big Billionaire Bill that Representatives Van Orden and Jordan voted for,” Berge said. “Every person that I have heard from has seen their health care costs rise significantly more than the no tax on overtime or tips has saved them.”
Emily Berge Statement
Berge also called Van Orden’s appearance with Jordan “a disgusting political stunt that people are tired of,” and said Jordan had “taken voters to mat his entire career.” She ended her statement by promising “real economic relief,” a push for Medicare for All, and a pledge to “always put people over party bosses and the ultra-wealthy.”
The practical issue for voters is straightforward: Van Orden is tying his campaign to a tax cut he says helps working people, while Berge is arguing that health care costs have risen more than the savings she says people have seen. With the seat heading toward November, the next phase of the race will be whether that message survives the district’s 19-county stretch.
