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[CAPTURE PORTAL] 119TH CONGRESS
// Legislative Integrity Monitor
Goblin House Intelligence
CongressOfficials → Derrick Van Orden

Derrick Van Orden

Republican · Representative, WI ·3
Score Components
35 ELEVATED
Connection Density 20%
0 → 0
Donor Influence 10%
0 → 0
Silence Risk 25%
20 → 5
Contradiction Risk 25%
100 → 25
Intelligence Volume 10%
54 → 5
Constituency Deviation 5%
0 → 0
Voting Misalignment 5%
0 → 0
% = weight in composite score · Raw component 0–100 × weight = weighted contribution (→) · Sum of contributions = overall score. Hover a row for details.
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Medicaid enrollees at risk under H.R. 1: ~30,000 constituents
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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: SNAP recipient households in district: 78,000 Wisconsinites (WI-03)
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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: bachelor's degree or higher: 28.4%
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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: population: 739,573 (2024)
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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: homeownership rate: 69.7%
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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: median age: 39.5 years
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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: poverty rate: 11.7% (2024)
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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: median household income: $72,409 (2024)
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[constituency_baseline] Ballot measure: Wisconsin Questions 1 and 2 — Limit Governor's Power to Spend Federal Funds (2024) — failed, margin 57.4% No – 42.6% Yes (Question 1); 56.0% No – 44.0% Yes (Question 2)
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[constituency_baseline] Ballot measure: Wisconsin Citizenship Requirement for Voting Constitutional Amendment (2024) — passed, margin 70.0% Yes – 30.0% No
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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 72 - Accommodation and Food Services (share 0.082)
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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 44-45 - Retail Trade (share 0.132)
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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 62 - Health Care and Social Assistance (share 0.154)
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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 31-33 - Manufacturing (share 0.158)
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[constituency_baseline] Top employer: University of Wisconsin — Eau Claire and La Crosse (3900 employees)
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[constituency_baseline] Top employer: Menards (headquarters: Eau Claire) (5000 employees)
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[constituency_baseline] Top employer: Mayo Clinic Health System (Eau Claire and La Crosse) (6800 employees)
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[constituency_baseline] District summary: Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District covers most of the Driftless Area in southwestern and western Wisconsin, including the cities of Eau Claire, La Crosse, and Stevens Point, as well as exurbs of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The district has a population of approximately 739,573, is 89.3% White (Non
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Voted nay on H.R. 5658 (Agriculture Committee Farm Bill Markup — Amendment to Repeal SNAP Cuts from Republican Tax Law) on 2026-03-05: Van Orden, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, voted against restoring SNAP cuts that were already harming families in his district. He also voted against $17 billion in additional farm relief and against funding for
primary · 2026-03-05
Voted yea on H.R. 4 (Rescissions Act of 2025) on 2025-06-12: Van Orden voted to rescind $9.4 billion in previously appropriated federal funding, including all federal support for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. His largely rural district has limited broadband access — many communities rely on public broadcasting for news and emergency alerts. The vo
primary · 2025-06-12
No connections mapped
BillVoteDateAlignment
Agriculture Committee Farm Bill Markup — Amendment to Repeal SNAP Cuts from Repu nay 2026-03-05 misaligned
One Big Beautiful Bill Act — On Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment yea 2025-07-03 misaligned
Rescissions Act of 2025 yea 2025-06-12 mixed
Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act yea 2025-04-10 mixed
Establishing the Congressional Budget for FY2025 yea 2025-02-25 aligned
Last contradiction analysis: Never
statement_vs_disclosure 90/100
Platform: "In his February 2025 statement on the House Budget Resolution, Van Orden stated: 'To be explicitly clear: today's budget resolution did not include an"
Vote: on "Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analysis found the budget framework Van Orden voted for call"
Van Orden explicitly said the budget resolution 'did not include any cuts to specific programs' and pledged to 'have no part in cutting these programs.' He then voted for H.R. 1, which CBO analysis projected would cut $880 billion from Medicaid and $
platform_vs_vote 90/100
Platform: "When running for Congress in 2022, Van Orden talked about growing up 'in abject rural poverty,' raised by a single mom who relied on food stamps. He p"
Vote: on "On May 14, 2025, Van Orden voted to advance the Agriculture Committee reconciliation bill, which inc"
Van Orden campaigned on protecting SNAP, citing his own childhood experience with food stamps. Days after pledging to protect the program, he voted to advance the Agriculture Committee bill containing the largest SNAP cut in the program's history — a
statement_vs_disclosure 90/100
Platform: "As a candidate and member of Congress, Van Orden positions himself as a veterans' champion: a retired Navy SEAL with 26 years of service, Chairman of "
Vote: on "During a May 2025 Veterans Affairs Committee hearing, Van Orden asked VA Secretary Doug Collins: 'So"
Van Orden campaigns as a veterans' champion and chairs the VA Economic Opportunity Subcommittee, yet publicly urged the VA Secretary to cut the Department of Veterans Affairs and threatened a disabled veteran and fired VA employee with referral to DO
platform_vs_vote 60/100
Platform: "During his 2022 congressional campaign, Van Orden signed the U.S. Term Limits pledge, promising to 'support and cosponsor only the U.S. Term Limits am"
Vote: on "As of September 2025, Van Orden has refused to cosponsor the U.S. Term Limits amendment, prompting U"
Van Orden signed a public pledge during his campaign to support and cosponsor a congressional term limits amendment. Once in office, he refused to cosponsor the bill, leading the pledge's sponsor to place billboard ads in his district calling him out
same_source_inconsistency 30/100
Platform: "Van Orden repeatedly claimed he never entered the Capitol grounds on January 6, 2021, only attended the 'Stop the Steal' rally, and wrote that he made"
Vote: on "A Facebook image from January 6 shows Van Orden standing on a wall on the Capitol grounds inside a r"
Van Orden repeatedly denied entering the Capitol grounds on January 6, but photographic evidence showed him on a wall inside a restricted area requiring crossing police barricades. Both claims are documented in the same investigative article by The D
same_source_inconsistency 30/100
Platform: "Van Orden said he is 'unreservedly, unabashedly, and proudly pro life' and called exceptions for rape and incest 'evil,' comparing abortion to genocid"
Vote: on "In a September 2024 campaign ad, Van Orden denied ever being against abortion exceptions, directly c"
[auto-downgraded: both claims come from the same source host] Van Orden called rape and incest exceptions to abortion 'evil' and was endorsed by Wisconsin Right to Life. In 2024, as he faced a competitive reelection in a swing district, he denied eve
Last silence detection: Never
In-person constituent town halls — refusal to hold open public meetings
1033d silent
Expected position: As the district's only member of Congress, constituents expect Van Orden to hold periodic in-person town halls to hear concerns, especially during active legislative periods affecti
Afghan allies and veterans — silence on Trump administration removal of Afghan refugees who served alongside U.S. troops
464d silent
Expected position: As a former Navy SEAL who served in Afghanistan and previously stated Afghan allies saved his life, Van Orden would be expected to advocate for protecting Afghan Special Immigrant V
No donor interests mapped
No constituency baseline modelled
No platform commitments archived
No committee memberships recorded
Scoring Methodology

The Capture Risk Score is a composite 0–100 index measuring potential regulatory capture of elected officials. It is computed from seven weighted components:

ComponentWeightSignal
Silence Risk25%Topics where donors have interests but the official is silent
Contradiction Risk25%Stated positions contradicted by voting record (recent findings boosted)
Connection Density20%Mapped relationships to lobbyists, contractors, interest groups
Intelligence Volume10%Documented facts from verified sources (logarithmic scale)
Donor Influence10%Distinct donors with interests overlapping committee jurisdiction
Constituency Deviation5%Gap between district priorities and legislative focus
Voting Misalignment5%Floor votes contradicting stated platform positions

Each component produces a raw score 0–100. The weighted sum yields the overall score. Tier thresholds: Critical ≥ 45, High ≥ 36, Elevated ≥ 22, Moderate ≥ 10, Low < 10.

Officials without at least 2 documented facts, 1 contradiction analysis, 1 voting record, or 1 constituency baseline are marked Insufficient Evidence and excluded from numeric ranking.

Contradiction findings from the last 180 days receive a recency boost. High-severity contradictions (score ≥ 70) receive additional weight.

Full methodology: /congress/methodology

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