Wisconsin Supreme Court election delivers liberal majority for first time in decade. What impact will it have?
HUDSON, Wis. -- Democratic-backed Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz defeated conservative former Justice Daniel Kelly in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election Tuesday, tipping the balance of power on the state's highest court to a liberal majority for the first time in 15 years.
Protasiewicz won a 10-year term on the bench by 11 percentage points in high-stakes battle that drew national attention, as the technically nonpartisan race became politically turbo charged. The new liberal shift on the state's highest court could have consequential impact on the fate of state political district maps, any legal disputes stemming from the 2024 presidential election and abortion access.
"It's isn't that often that the election of a single justice has that dramatic effect on...a court's ideology," said Howard Schweber, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "We are in an environment in which the court is a very partisan institution to begin with. That means a switch from a conservative to a liberal majority has a lot of consequences."
When Roe v. Wade was overturned, it revived an 1849 law banning most abortions in the state. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the state's attorney general sued, challenging the statute's validity. A new liberal majority on the highest court will likely rule on the case and is poised strike down the law. Protasiewicz made abortion a key issue in her campaign.
It's one of the reasons that Carol Dahle of Hudson said drove her to the polls and she told WCCO she is thrilled at the outcome.
"She's going to be the balance that gives this state the freedom that it needs so women can have good health, and voting will be more balanced because there will be no more gerrymandering -- they're going to get rid of those things," Dahle said.
The national attention, turnout and spending -- topping $45 million -- is unprecedented for a race of this nature in the state, Schweber said, but believes similar state supreme court races will continue to be increasingly partisan.
"I've been studying the Wisconsin court for 20 years and I've never seen anything remotely like this," he said.
Republicans characterized Protasiewicz as a "soft-on-crime" liberal who made poor sentencing decisions during her tenure as a judge. In a statement following the results, the chairman of the party blamed the national influence on the election.
"Our strong turnout and unprecedented spending was overcome tonight by the record smashing millions of out-of-state dollars poured into Wisconsin from the likes of George Soros and JB Pritzker, which simply allowed their message to dominate in this campaign," said Brian Schimming, chair of the WisGOP.
Elections that do not fall in the same year as a presidential election often draw low voter turnout, but this one broke state records. The previous highest turnout for spring election in the state in an odd-numbered year was about 34% compared to a 2020 general election of 72%.
The election secures a liberal majority for at least two years. She will take office in August.
