Wisconsin supreme court election

The most expensive state judicial race in American history is coming to a fiery close: On Tuesday, Wisconsin voters will decide the future of abortion and ...

From left, Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates Janet Protasiewicz and Daniel Kelly. Morry Gash/Associated Press. CNN —.

Voters in Wisconsin will decide the balance of the state's Supreme Court in the most expensive judicial election in history as sharp political divides are ...

Abortion, election rules, legislative maps at stake in most expensive judicial race in US history.

Tuesday's race between liberal Janet Protasiewicz and conservative Dan Kelly will decide the makeup and partisan lean of a court poised to decide a ...

The Democratic Party appears to have finally convinced left-leaning voters to care about judicial races.

A huge number of Democrats in the state seem to have realized they’ve got to turn out and vote in these elections. And that in part led to their focus on the state Supreme Court. But he has not come out and said: “I plan to uphold this abortion ban because I think that abortion should be criminalized in Wisconsin.” They really felt like their state was sliding to the right, that Republicans were building in these structural advantages that were going to be impossible for them to overcome. Janet Protasiewicz has come out and said, in a very unusual move, that she believes women should have the freedom to make their own decisions about abortion. There is a guarantee of equal liberty in the Wisconsin Constitution, and this ban is violating women’s rights to exercise their own choices. And this is an issue because there is an 1849 law on the books in Wisconsin—which is entirely rooted in the 1800s-era patriarchal, misogynistic thinking about women—that prohibits virtually all abortions. And I think that’s because the anti-abortion groups are really just beginning to wrestle with the reality that opposing abortion is not super popular. This is all about making sure that Wisconsin is a bastion of reproductive rights. And I think that leads to some mistrust among voters, because when one candidate is saying what she believes and the other is concealing it, you know what you’re going to get with one, and the other is kind of a mystery box. Daniel Kelly, on the other hand, sounds a little bit robotic in a lot of these ads. Her opponent, Daniel Kelly, who served as a justice on the state Supreme Court before, is a known conservative.

See full results and maps from the 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

0 50 Percent of votes in

The Wisconsin Supreme Court could soon vote to legalize abortion and end gerrymandering now that Janet Protasiewicz, backed by Democrats, has defeated ...

The race shattered the previous national record for spending in a state Supreme Court race. [ downplayed his political views](https://www.wpr.org/dan-kelly-wisconsin-supreme-court-politics-republican-conservative-campaign-issues), but he brought [ a long Republican resume](https://www.wpr.org/dan-kelly-wisconsin-supreme-court-politics-republican-conservative-campaign-issues) to the race. Barring the unexpected, the next chance conservatives have to flip the court back will be in 2025. Another running [tally](https://www.wispolitics.com/2023/wispolitics-review-spending-in-supreme-court-race-nears-45-million) by the Wisconsin political news site WisPolitics found total spending on the race had hit $45 million. The bulk of that money came in transfers from the state Democratic Party. Spending in the campaign shattered the previous national record for a state supreme court election. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, the old record of $15.2 million was set in a 2004 race for the Illinois Supreme Court. [ open about her politics](https://www.wpr.org/janet-protasiewicz-wisconsin-supreme-court-abortion-politics-democratic-campaign-issues) during the campaign. In 2020, after Kelly [ lost his first election](https://www.wpr.org/jill-karofsky-wins-wisconsin-supreme-court-race-defeating-conservative-incumbent), he returned to private practice, where his clients included both the state and national Republican parties. If election lawsuits are filed in state court, Protasiewicz will be one of the seven justices who have the final say. The court could also potentially redraw Wisconsin's congressional map, where Republicans currently hold six out of eight U.S House seats in an otherwise 50-50 state. "And while there is still work to be done, tonight we celebrate this historic victory that has obviously reignited hope in so many of us.

Janet Protasiewicz prevailed in the state's highly consequential contest for the Supreme Court, which will now be likely to reverse the state's abortion ban ...

Kaul’s case for May 4, but whichever way a county judge rules, the case is all but certain to advance on appeal to the State Supreme Court later this year. Evers, said he would file a legal request for the Supreme Court to hear a redistricting case the day after Judge Protasiewicz is seated. “Trying to address the gerrymander and reverse the extreme partisan gerrymandering we have is the highest priority.” Last year, the court’s conservatives [allowed a Walker appointee whose term](https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2022/06/29/wisconsin-supreme-court-allows-frederick-prehn-remain-dnr-board/7745477001/) had expired to remain in office over Mr. In 2020, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court was the only one in the country to agree to hear President Donald J. Mandell, the president of Law Forward, a progressive law firm that has represented Mr. The result means that in the next year, the court is likely to reverse the state’s abortion ban and end the use of gerrymandered legislative maps drawn by Republicans. That key vote gave this year’s court race extra importance, because the justices will weigh in on voting and election issues surrounding the 2024 election. Justice Kelly, 59, evinced the bitterness of the campaign with a testy concession speech that acknowledged his defeat and portended doom for the state. She made explicit her support for abortion rights and called the maps, which gave Republicans near-supermajority control of the Legislature, “rigged” and “unfair.” Scott Walker’s early overhauls to state government, including the Act 10 law that gutted public employee unions, as well as voting restrictions like a requirement for a state-issued identification and a ban on ballot drop boxes. As the race was called Tuesday night, the court’s three sitting liberal justices embraced at Judge Protasiewicz’s election night party in Milwaukee, as onlookers cried tears of joy.

Janet Protasiewicz will be the next justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, TMJ4 News projects. The liberal-leaning judge defeated conservative-leaning ...

Former Justice Dan Kelly is running again to be on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Members of the state Supreme Court are likely to make the decision regarding legal abortion in Wisconsin. Only two candidates will advance to the April election. The nonpartisan primary race is Feb. Evers's Administration during the pandemic as one of his accomplishments. Wade, the law regarding abortions in Wisconsin reverted to an history; the record before was $15.4 million spent in the Illinois Supreme Court race almost 20 years ago. She has been elected twice to the bench. The court came within one vote of overturning President Joe Biden's election win in Wisconsin in 2020. MILWAUKEE — Janet Protasiewicz will be the next justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, TMJ4 News projects. Conservative-leaning Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn gave the key vote in rejecting former President Donald Trump's attempt to invalidate 200,000 votes and win the state. On the heels of this election, the high court may make important decisions regarding legal abortion, election districts and redistricting, election laws, union rights and other hot-button issues.

Abortion rights, redistricting and election rules were at stake in decision affecting key swing state.

A [challenge](https://www.wpr.org/wisconsin-abortion-ban-lawsuit-josh-kaul) to the ban is currently making its way through state courts and will likely end up in front of the state supreme court this year. “She’s one of those people who’s Wisconsin to the bone,” Sonya Bice, 57, a lawyer in Madison, said about Protasiewicz. Following the 2020 elections, Kelly was hired by the Wisconsin GOP to [advise](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/daniel-kelly-wisconsin-supreme-court-trump-fake-electors-rcna71276) on a plan to have a group of Republicans falsely claim to be electors. Abortion quickly emerged as a top issue in this race, with voters across the state [rejected](https://apnews.com/article/wisonsin-supreme-court-trump-lawsuit-e6b3aa222b4141c0844d541c4b041964) an attempt by former president Donald Trump to overturn the results of the presidential election; the court could see a similar challenge in 2024. Elections and democracy observers have called this election the most consequential one of the year, with abortion rights, redistricting and election rules at stake.

The victory of Janet Protasiewicz over conservative Dan Kelly will allow the court's new liberal majority to determine the future of key issues like ...

As is the case in many states, in Wisconsin, if the governor and the Legislature cannot agree on legislative maps, the issue falls to the state Supreme Court. [television](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NccB5rwJsZs) advertisements emphasized her support for abortion rights and slammed “ [extremists](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sOnGvAyTno)” on the other side. [tweeted](https://mobile.twitter.com/benwikler/status/1643423451288403968) that the race was "a release valve for twelve years of Democratic rage in Wisconsin about Republicans rigging our state and smashing our democracy." [a 4-3 decision last year,](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/wisconsin-supreme-court-bars-absentee-ballot-drop-boxes-elections-offi-rcna37275) the state Supreme Court deemed all ballot drop boxes outside of election clerks’ offices illegal — a setback for Democrats, who had advocated to preserve one of the more lenient rules about the boxes that arose during the coronavirus pandemic. In a deposition to the House committee investigating the Jan. State Democrats and abortion rights groups lauded her win in the moments after NBC News called the race for her. It could also hear cases about redrawn legislative maps (the current map, which The win by Protasiewicz suggests that the strategy continues to pay off for the party — a data point national Democrats will be all but certain to rely on heading into next year’s presidential election. She was endorsed by the Democratic abortion rights group history and one of the most closely watched elections of 2023. Protasiewicz was elected to a 10-year term. Protasiewicz will fill the seat being vacated by retiring conservative Justice Patience Roggensack, giving liberals the majority for the first time since 2008.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Democratic-backed Milwaukee judge won the high stakes Wisconsin Supreme Court race on April 4, ensuring liberals will take over ...

Connection is secure Checking if the site connection is secure Occasionally, you may see this page while the site ensures that the connection is secure.

The victory of a liberal judge in Tuesday's Wisconsin Supreme Court election marks a significant political realignment toward the left in a crucial swing ...

Wisconsin’s high court played a pivotal role in the outcome of the 2020 election, rejecting a Trump lawsuit aimed at invalidating Those results continued a streak of successes for Democrats who dug in hard on the issue – a political winner in many swing states and legislative districts. Her past comments also suggest a new day’s dawning for the labor community and Democrats seeking to upend the state’s skewed legislative maps. Protasiewicz, Wisconsin Democrats and allied groups such as Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America and Emily’s List all worked to frame the race as another referendum on abortion rights. Ron Johnson held his seat in 2022, Trump had lost the state two years earlier by a little more than 20,000 votes. But like so many others in that year’s Republican field, he never got off the blocks as Trump thundered to the nomination. [Democratic-backed Janet Protasiewicz](https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/04/politics/wisconsin-election-supreme-court-results/index.html), who will begin a 10-year term this summer, effectively flipping control of the divided bench to liberals. Walker entered the 2016 GOP presidential primary as an early favorite, pitching his state as a model for the nation. Now, GOP policy gains at the state level – most notably its crushing of public sector labor unions – are in doubt. Wade and a base still energized by the specter of another Donald Trump presidency. With liberals now poised to effectively control the seven-judge court, Democrats are newly optimistic about saving abortion access in the state, establishing a firewall against any Republican challenges to the 2024 elections and potentially redoing GOP-drawn state legislative and congressional maps. It was the most expensive state judicial election in the country ever.

Wisconsin's Supreme Court election between liberal judge Janet Protasiewicz and conservative judge Daniel Kelly set high stakes for both parties.

[openly expressed](https://pbswisconsin.org/news-item/janet-protasiewicz-daniel-kelly-on-wisconsin-redistricting/) her opposition to the current state of the political maps in Wisconsin, calling them rigged on several occasions. The current political district maps were selected in 2021 after the Supreme Court [decided](https://www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/DisplayDocument.pdf?content=pdf&seqNo=459269) to adopt maps submitted by Gov. [endorsed](https://wisconsinrighttolife.org/endorsed-candidates-2/) by the Wisconsin Right to Life PAC, which doesn’t support abortion [exceptions](https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2023/03/13/how-anti-abortion-groups-are-working-to-shape-wisconsin-law/) in cases of rape and incest. [change](https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2023/03/21/5-takeaways-from-the-only-wisconsin-supreme-court-election-debate/70029701007/) the rules laid out in these rulings if elected. [most gerrymandered](https://pbswisconsin.org/news-item/wisconsins-assembly-maps-are-more-skewed-than-ever-what-happens-in-2023/) in the country. [not permitted](https://elections.wi.gov/node/1093) to vote. Tony Evers [filed](https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIGOV/bulletins/31e0fe4) a [lawsuit](https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/WIGOV/2022/06/28/file_attachments/2195932/EversKaul_Criminal%20Abortion%20Ban%20Complaint.pdf), which is expected to stand before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Having a conservative or a liberal majority within the Wisconsin Supreme Court has major implications for the 2024 presidential election. [ban](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/misc/lrb/lrb_reports/history_of_abortion_laws_6_4.pdf) that criminalizes the provision of an abortion. Thus, physicians are reluctant to treat miscarriages, according to [Wisconsin Watch](https://wisconsinwatch.org/2023/01/have-people-been-denied-medical-care-over-a-miscarriage-in-wisconsin-due-to-the-states-abortion-ban/). While Protasiewicz is unsure how to create a standard, she does advocate for a rule that takes the decision out of justices’ hands. The Brennan Center’s [Buying Time 2023](https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/buying-time-2023-wisconsin) database reveals outside groups alone have spent more than $7 million on television and radio ads that will run through election day.