Oct.02

electoral-vote.com

Dem 47

   

GOP 53

2026 Will Have Yet Another Barnburner State Supreme Court Justice Race in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Supreme Court races seem to attract a lot of national attention and money. In 2023, liberal judge Janet Protasiewicz beat former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly in a knock-down, drag-out race by 11 points. A total of $51 million was spent on it, making it the most expensive Supreme Court race in history.

Two years later, in April 2025, another Wisconsin Supreme Court race cost $90 million, a new record. Of this amount, $25 million came from Elon Musk. His candidate, Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, lost to Dane County Judge Susan Crawford by 10 points. Musk seemed miffed by the fact that for $25 million he wasn't even able to buy a Supreme Court seat in a medium-sized state. This wasn't a California Senate race or something important like that, after all. Just a measly Supreme Court seat, one of seven in the state. What do you need to buy one of them these days? $100 million? Talk about inflation.

Here we go again. In April, there will be another Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Conservative Wisconsin Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar announced her run yesterday. Liberal Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor is also in. This one will probably top $100 million.

It is an open-seat race because Justice Rebecca Bradley is throwing in the towel at 54. Here are some of the statements she has made in the past:

• Heterosexual sex is very healthy in a loving relationship; homosexual sex, however, kills.
• One will be better off contracting AIDS than developing cancer, because those afflicted with the politically correct disease will get all the funding.
• How sad that the lives of degenerate drug addicts and queers are valued more than the innocent lives of more prevalent ailments.
• The stay-at-home orders during the pandemic are no different from the Japanese internment during WW II.

She has also compared abortion to "the time in history when Jews were treated as nonhumans and tortured and killed." Actually she wanted another 10-year term and was initially "in," but her fundraising was anemic and she saw that she couldn't win, so she gave up and dropped out.

Of the six justices not up in 2026, four are liberals and two are conservatives. If a liberal wins this race, this will cement the liberals' majority more firmly at 5-2. In 2026, Justice Annette Ziegler, a conservative, is up. Flipping that one, too, could give the Court a liberal majority for years to come. Here are the current justices, with Bradley on the left. See anything unusual here?

If you said the Court is majority blonde, you nailed it. (V)