MADISON, Wis. — On Sep 12th, 3rd Congressional District Democratic Chair William Garcia alerted local television stations that a campaign advertisement by Derrick Van Orden currently running in western Wisconsin is in blatant violation of federal law. Van Orden’s utter disregard for the rule of law has landed him in hot water before. In this case, television stations airing Derrick Van Orden’s noncompliant advertisement must charge Van Orden’s campaign the same rate charged to non-political advertisers, rather than the discounted rate charged to political committees.

Federal law requires that a political candidate’s image appears at the end of an advertisement for no less than four seconds, accompanied by a clear, printed statement identifying the candidate and authorizing committee. Van Orden’s advertisement unquestionably fails to follow the letter of the law.

Read the letter sent to impacted TV Stations HERE. 

“Here in western Wisconsin, we value decency and fair play, and it’s a shame Derrick Van Orden doesn’t respect that. Running attack ads without the required disclosures is the kind of sleazy, DC politics that we’ve all come to expect from Derrick Van Orden, and it’s time to turn the page,” said 3rd Congressional District Democratic Chair Will Garcia. “When you break the rules, there need to be consequences—which is why we’re calling on stations airing this advertisement to act according to federal law and charge Van Orden’s campaign the full market rate for these advertisements.”

This isn’t the first time Derrick Van Orden has thrown decency, fair play, and the rules out the window:

• Derrick Van Orden was photographed behind police lines on January 6th while a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
   
• Derrick Van Orden was cited and fined for attempting to bring a loaded firearm through an Iowa airport.
   
• Derrick Van Orden cursed at teenage Senate pages during a late-night tour of the U.S. Capitol, calling them “lazy sh—” and berating the resting teens to “get the f— up” off the floor.
   
• Derrick Van Orden berated a teenage volunteer at a public library over an LGBTQ+ book display, allegedly calling the display “disgusting” and claiming information in the book was “incorrect.”
   
• Derrick Van Orden tweeted a Nazi reference at a Jewish former Cabinet secretary with whom he disagreed.