Democrat-backed Janet Protasiewicz defeated conservative opponent Daniel Kelly in Wisconsin's state Supreme Court election Tuesday night, giving liberals a 4-3 majority on the state's high court for the first time in 15 years.
In the most expensive judicial election in state history, Protasiewicz defeated Kelly—a former state Supreme Court justice and onetime ally of former President Donald Trump, handing liberals control of a court that proved critical in rejecting Trump's efforts to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
For Democrats, Kelly's defeat was a symbolic rejection of the former president, as Kelly advised the GOP on plans to have fake GOP electors cast ballots for Trump following his 2020 loss to Biden.
Kelly's election to the court would have moved the court ideologically further to the right amid ongoing challenges to the state's 1849-era ban on abortions and changes to legislative district lines that would allow Republicans a competitive advantage in elections for years to come.
Protasiewicz on Tuesday night hailed her victory, telling the Associated Press, "I feel great. I could not feel better. I am surprised of the results and the magnitude of the victory here. We are absolutely delighted and thrilled."
Protasiewicz's candidacy became a sort of proxy battle for Democrats in what has traditionally been one of the country's most contentious battleground states. Many framed the race as arguably the most important in the nation, with both candidates drawing contributions from some of the wealthiest donors in politics.
In addition to figures like Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Protasiewicz's campaign counted figures like California millionaire Karla Jurvetson and Democratic mega-donor George Soros as major contributors both to her and the Wisconsin Democratic Party, which transferred upward of $8 million in support of her candidacy.
While Trump's influence loomed large over the race, Republicans in Wisconsin framed Kelly's campaign as an effort to maintain the legacy of programs championed by former Governor Scott Walker. If elected, some argued Protasiewicz would rule against them in future lawsuits challenging the legality of conservative-led policies like voter identification and expanded gun rights within the state.
Some conservative groups, like Wisconsin Family Action, highlighted Protasiewicz's support for abortion access, saying her recent comments in a radio interview that she believed "in a woman's freedom to make her own decision on abortion" as a sign she would rule against them in a future court challenge.
Others argued a signature law from the Walker administration curbing union rights could potentially be at risk if the court flipped, with some noting Protasiewicz signed a recall petition against Walker and was among the tens of thousands who marched against the law in 2011.
"All those things, they don't appear on the ballot, but they really are on the ballot," Orville Seymer, a longtime Republican activist, said at a GOP event supporting Kelly this spring, NPR reported. "People are voting on those issues. And the people here in this room—conservative people—they want to maintain that."
Tuesday's result could also prove to be a precursor for how the state might swing in the 2024 presidential election.
While controversial Republican Senator Ron Johnson managed to defeat Democrat Mandela Barnes in the state in an unexpectedly competitive midterm election cycle for Republicans in the fall, Wisconsin flipped to Biden in 2020 after backing Trump just four years prior.
Others noted a Protasiewicz victory could allow for successful challenges to the state's legislative maps, reducing Republicans' 6-2 hold on the state's congressional seats to a more competitive 4-4 alignment. In previous statements, Protasiewicz described the state's maps as being "rigged" and that she did not believe "you could sell to any reasonable person that the maps are fair."
"It does not matter which maps are fair to understand the ramifications of this election—if Protasiewicz defeats Kelly, the new court could draw a 4-4 federal map and more competitive state legislative maps," Decision Desk's Zachary Donnini wrote for the outlet ahead of Tuesday's victory for Democrats.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Nick Reynolds is a senior politics reporter at Newsweek. A native of Central New York, he previously worked as a ... Read more
