Rebecca Cooke, the failed Democrat congressional candidate who is now on her third attempt to win Wisconsin’s Third District, has made hundreds of thousands of dollars as a political consultant despite her claims of being an industry “outsider.”
Much of her branding as an outsider comes from her claim to be working as a “waitress,” which, according to her campaign website, helps to give her an understanding of the “economic and social challenges” that Wisconsinites face. Financial disclosures filed by Cooke tell a different story, however.
A 2023 disclosure shows that Cooke made just over $9,500 for her work as a waitress at The Good Wives while cashing in $15,000 from her consultancy. A second disclosure from 2024 lists no earned income from her consultancy, but does name FlyteDesk as an organization that Cooke, from which she received “compensation in excess of $5,000.” A report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel states that Cooke received around $30,000 in payments for her consulting work in 2025 alone.
A frequent, high-paying client of Cooke’s is FlyteDesk, an ad agency that specializes in outreach to young college students and was a major contractor for Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign. Another client of FlyteDesk is the Wisco Project PAC, a leftist political group that focuses on “organizing and digital programs to mobilize students,” who paid FlyteDesk more than $75,000 in 2024.
The Wisco Project PAC also spent heavily on behalf of Cooke’s 2024 congressional campaign and dropped similar expenses on efforts against Cooke’s political opponent, Derrick Van Orden. In total the Wisco Project PAC’s financial endeavor into Cooke’s political campaign reached more than $127,000. The financial dealings created a scenario in which Cooke was getting paid by a political consulting firm that worked directly with a PAC that was spending heavily in her race.
FlyteDesk executives repaid Cooke for her service by dropping an additional $3,500 in personal contributions to her campaign in 2024.
“Radical Rebecca Cooke is a lying, paid political operative that took advantage of her political insider connections,” NRCC spokesman Zach Bannon told Townhall. “Western Wisconsin rejected Cooke’s radical policies and fake waitress twice before and will reject her once again this fall.”
Cooke will take on Republican incumbent Rep. Derrick Van Orden for control over the Wisconsin congressional seat during their midterm rematch in November.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member