Liberals expanded their majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in an election Tuesday, strengthening control in a key battleground state, in a ballot box showdown that drew limited national attention but had plenty riding on the results.
Wisconsin Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor, a former democratic state representative, defeated Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar, a conservative, the Associated Press reports.
Taylor will succeed a retiring conservative justice and with the victory, liberals will expand their majority on the state Supreme Court to 5-2.
While officially a non-partisan contest, state Supreme Court elections in Wisconsin have become extremely partisan in recent election cycles.
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With the court’s majority on the line in last year’s contest, outside money poured in and out-of-state door knockers blanketed Wisconsin. One of the biggest spenders was Trump ally Elon Musk, who headlined a rally days before the election and donned a cheesehead hat worn by fans of the Green Bay Packers. Musk also personally handed out $1 million checks to voters.
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The liberal candidate won that election by a larger-than-expected margin to capture a 4-3 majority on the state Supreme Court.
Since the majority wasn’t at stake in this year’s showdown, the campaign battle wasn’t showered with national resources, money, or attention.
“Tonight the people of Wisconsin stood up for our courts and freedoms, our democracy, our elections and a strong state Supreme Court that will protect the independence of our beloved state,” Taylor told supporters at her victory celebration.
Lazar, in her concession speech, told supporters that “the fight is not over and we will keep fighting for our courts because they are that important.”
With most votes tallied, Taylor held a larger than expected 19-point margin over Lazar. And national Democrats were quick to tout the over performance.
“Wisconsin voters showed up and sent another big message to Republicans, securing a liberal majority until 2030!” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in a social media post.”
Liberals took control of the state Supreme Court in 2023, ending a decade and a half of conservative control. Since taking the majority, the liberals have reversed several election-related rulings by the prior conservative majority, including one that banned absentee ballot drop boxes.
This year’s campaign focused on abortion rights, congressional redistricting, and union rights cases that will likely come in front of the state Supreme Court.
The judicial ballot box showdown also came six months ahead of November’s elections, when Democrats in Wisconsin aim to keep control of the governor’s office and potentially flip the state legislature, which Republicans have controlled for 15 years.
Liberals tighten grip on battleground state Supreme Court in low-key but high-stakes election 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2025 2026-04-08 02:07:51 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
