Rebecca Cooke, a Democratic candidate for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, disclosed after the primary that she had been paid by Third Way and the Pipeline Fund, two progressive organisations that have received funding connected to George Soros’s Open Society network. The disclosure has drawn attention because Cooke has campaigned as a working-class outsider, and because it was released two days after the 13 August primary.

The filing covered 1 January 2025 to 14 July 2026 and recorded payments of more than $5,000 from each organisation, without listing exact amounts. Third Way said Cooke was paid $30,000 for a project concerning working-class Americans; Pipeline Fund said she worked as a contractor in 2025 to support underrepresented candidates. The article says Third Way’s research arm received $1 million in Open Society-related grants in 2023 and 2024, while Pipeline Fund received $1.4 million from the Open Society Action Fund in 2024.