Wisconsin Votes in Pivotal Supreme Court Election

Facts

• Voters in Wisconsin on Tuesday headed to the polls to elect the newest members of the state Supreme Court, with the winner determining the balance of power on the court that’s currently split with three liberals and three conservatives. Conservative Justice Patience Roggensack is retiring.¹
• Roughly $42.3M has been spent on the race, the most expensive court race in US history. Liberal candidate Judge Janet Protasiewicz has spent nearly $12M, while conservative challenger Justice Daniel Kelly has spent about $2.2M.²
• With divisive issues such as abortion and the drawing of legislative maps hanging in the balance, spending is triple the previous record of $15M spent on a 2004 Illinois election. Many recent Wisconsin elections have been tight and had national ramifications.³
• One hot-button topic is Wisconsin’s 1849 law that effectively would ban abortion.¹
• Crime has also been a major issue, especially since Protasiewicz has a record of sentencing decisions made while serving on the Milwaukee County Court.⁴

Sources: ¹CNN, ²BBC News, ³FOX News and ⁴Wisconsin examiner.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by AlterNet. If Kelly wins, abortion rights and labor unions could be decimated in Wisconsin. His support for loose gun laws and willingness to let fossil fuel companies pollute the state also makes him the lesser candidate. Even worse, tilting this court to the right could open the door for former Pres. Trump to succeed if he challenges election results in the state in 2024.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Townhall. The biggest issue in this race is Protasiewicz’s soft-on-crime track record. Wisconsin can’t reward her for all of the dangerously lenient sentences she’s handed out to violent criminals. If Wisconsin believes in law and order, this race will go for Kelly.