In one of the nation’s most important political battlegrounds, the future of election laws, abortion rights and more could hinge on the outcome of an April race for a seat that will determine control of the state Supreme Court.
Power in Wisconsin – the state that was the tipping point in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections – is divided between a Democratic governor, Tony Evers, and a Republican-controlled legislature.
That split has placed the state Supreme Court, where conservatives currently hold a 4-3 majority, at the center of pitched, partisan battles over several key issues, including abortion rights, election challenges, and legislative and congressional district lines.
And because Wisconsin is one of 14 states to directly elect Supreme Court justices, the race between Janet Protasiewicz, the liberal Milwaukee County judge, and Daniel Kelly, the conservative former state Supreme Court justice, has shattered spending records on statewide judicial races, with more than $30 million in television advertising already flooding the state’s airwaves ahead of the April 4 election.
The two are battling to replace Justice Patience Roggensack, a conservative. A Protasiewicz victory would tip the balance of power on the seven-member court.
Ben Wikler, chairman Wisconsin Democratic Party, said the implications of the Supreme Court race could not be overstated for the state and the nation.
“This election is the most important election in the country in 2023 because Wisconsin is the tipping point state for presidential elections,” Wikler said in an interview Tuesday. “Whoever wins the Supreme Court race will cast the deciding vote on questions like voting rights decisions, our abortion ban and even potentially whether to overturn the results of the 2024 presidential election.”
The court played a pivotal role in the…
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