3rd District Congressional District candidate Rebecca Cooke accepted money from a PAC that was funded by Epstein Island visitor Reid Hoffman.
In the wake of new revelations about Hoffman’s ties to Epstein, Cooke, a former leftist fundraiser, has not pledged to refuse any money linked to him in the future. She also has not given back the money she took from Welcome PAC. In short, she has remained silent.
In an effort to help Cooke last time, the Welcome PAC spent $100,000 in 2024 on an ad trashing former Navy SEAL Derrick Van Orden and calling him names. Hoffman has been a major donor to the Welcome PAC from 2021 through 2024, FEC records show.
Cooke is taking on Van Orden again in a race that could dictate control of the U.S. House.
Prospect.org reported that Welcome PAC spent $170,000 “to boost Cooke’s campaign” in 2024. She lost to Van Orden.
Altogether, Hoffman has given Welcome PAC more than $1.8 million in recent years. “Earlier this summer, WelcomePAC was proud to endorse Rebecca Cooke in our first set of endorsements for the 2026 election cycle,” Welcome PAC wrote in July of 2025.
According to the Federalist, Cooke also took $24,000 from Welcome PAC.
The Democrat Party of Wisconsin has accepted more than $15 million since 2019 from Hoffman, who is ensnared in the Jeffrey Epstein document dump controversy, including an admitted visit to Epstein’s infamous island.
Reid Hoffman Is the Wisconsin Democrat Party’s Top Donor
Reid Garrett Hoffman is the party’s top donor. The party and the Democratic candidates for Wisconsin governor have all refused to return the money and won’t pledge to not take more of Hoffman’s money in the future.
A search of his name in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Epstein files database returned 2,668 results. Hoffman, a billionaire who co-founded LinkedIn, sent the Democratic Party of Wisconsin another $100,000 on December 24, 2025, as the Epstein email release scandal was brewing. Two days later, he funneled another $175,000 to the Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee, state records show, at a time when Democrats are trying to flip the state Legislature.
Although Hoffman has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said he visited Epstein’s island for one night to fundraise for MIT, the U.S. Department of Justice’s latest email dump is increasing scrutiny over his extensive ties to Epstein.
For starters, Epstein wrote an email to his assistant Saida Sapieva under the heading “Trip to the Island.” It says, “Reid will take a Virgin America Flight from SFO to Fort Lauderdale, departing at 8:20 am, landing at 4:40 pm.” There’s much, much more. A document submitted to Microsoft board members outlined Hoffman’s alleged interactions with Epstein in great detail (Hoffman remains on that board).
In one email, Epstein wrote that Hoffman should come to his ranch and island, exhorting, “Let’s play.” Hoffman wrote that he was busy with “China visits” but added, “possibly next year.” An email from Epstein to Elon Musk in 2014 reads, “Reid was on the island last weekend…”
Hoffman is also accused of helping rehabilitate Epstein’s reputation AFTER his conviction.
Axios previously reported that Hoffman “appears regretful for his role in enabling Jeffrey Epstein’s post-conviction rehabilitation.”
Although he denies wrongdoing, Hoffman expressed regret on X. “Yes, interacting with Epstein post-conviction is something I deeply regret,” he wrote on February 1. “I promise to continue calling for the full release of the Epstein files – the victims deserve justice, and those responsible should be held accountable.”
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