The Derrick Van Orden who was an unsuccessful candidate in 2020 would probably have some real issues with the Derrick Van Orden currently serving in Congress when it comes to the matter of “independence,” according to a review of his floor votes over his two terms in office.
As the Republican challenger to incumbent Democratic Rep. Ron Kind in 2020, Van Orden made the rounds of conservative media and regularly attacked Kind for consistently voting in line with Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“Now, I will not bear false witness to anybody or about anybody,” Van Orden told Fox News in one instance. “But what I’m going to do in the 3rd District here is tell the truth about Ron Kind, what he has done and what he hasn’t done. He went to less than 30 percent of his committee meetings one year. He manages to tell people he is a moderate Democrat when in fact he votes with Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler and ‘The Squad’ 95% of the time. That’s a solid A.”
In another interview, he promised to be more independent and approachable.
“I’m coming to the table honestly, that I will reach across the aisle and I’ll do what is best for the people of the third district of the state of Wisconsin. I have an in-depth, very unique background that allows me to understand how to communicate effectively with people.”
Van Orden was defeated by Kind in 2020. Weeks later, Van Orden would travel to Washington, DC to protest the presidential election results on Jan. 6, 2021. He was seen in a restricted area beyond police boundaries on the US Capitol grounds, but the protester-turned-congressman has consistently said he did nothing wrong and left the scene before things turned violent.
The next year, the insurrection-adjacent Van Orden was elected to Congress after Kind announced his retirement. After defeating state Sen. Brad Pfaff in 2022, Van Orden was reelected in 2024 in a win over Rebecca Cooke.
The Washington publication CQ has calculated the voting records of members of Congress, including a “unity score” to show how often they vote with their party leadership or with the other party. During his first term, Van Orden’s voting record was 88.45% in line with Republican Speaker Mike McCarthy and his successor and current Speaker Mike Johnson.
But by 2024, Van Orden’s score had risen to 93.6% in line with Johnson. In 2025, Van Orden voted in lockstep with Speaker Johnson 97.12% of the time, higher than Kind’s 95% score that he criticized as a candidate, while promising to be more independent.
Similar to the Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature, Van Orden’s loyalty has risen in tandem with the campaign contributions received from party leadership, despite all of the lawmakers representing “swing districts” where the electorate is closely divided and more welcoming to independents.
Speaker Johnson has steered more than $600,000 to Van Orden’s campaign warchest through various political and campaign accounts, with most of it coming from Johnson’s “Grow the Majority” committee as well as smaller amounts from Johnson’s “American Revival PAC” and “Mike Johnson for Louisiana.”
Van Orden also criticized Kind in a Jan. 3, 2021 post on Twitter (now X) for receiving a similar total in campaign contributions from Democratic leadership. In the post below, Van Orden was responding to a Kind statement referring to the political environment as toxic.
“Do not be fooled,” Van Orden wrote. “This is not toxic. This is what $600,000 in campaign contributions buys you. I’m not a fan of the ‘I told you so’ game, but if the idiom fits…”
Perhaps it still does.
