Janet Protasiewicz and Dan Kelly advance to general election in Wisconsin Supreme Court race

Wisconsin held a primary election to fill a vacancy on the state Supreme Court on Tuesday, where conservative Dan Kelly and liberal Janet Protasiewicz advanced to a planned general election on April 4.

The outcome of the general election will determine the ideological leaning of the court. The current Republican majority of 4-3 is being threatened by the retirement of Justice Patience Roggenstack, whose term expires on July 31. Roggenstack endorsed Kelly’s opponent Jennifer Dorow in the primary, despite previously serving on the court with Kelly four nearly five years. But Kelly was able to defeat Dorrow with 24.2% to Dorow’s 21.9%. Protasiewicz was able to secure a commanding 46.4%, which amounted to more votes than Kelly and Dorow received combined.

Democratic turnout was strong in not only the Milwaukee and Madison areas, but throughout the state in support of Protasiewicz. The state Democratic and Republican parties have each spent millions on the race, according to AdImpact.

#WIPol: Wisconsin’s Supreme Court primary is today. We’ve seen $4.61M in spending supporting liberal candidates and $4.60M supporting conservative candidates. In this nail biting race, a liberal win would flip the composition of the WI Supreme Court and mark liberal majority. pic.twitter.com/vWuHO7MZbV

— AdImpact Politics (@AdImpact_Pol) February 21, 2023

Since the Wisconsin state legislature is controlled by Republicans, many issues like abortion rights and blatant gerrymandering are not being addressed through legislation. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has expressed his willingness to change these issues but is unable to gain any support from the legislature. A liberal majority on the Supreme Court could see these issues be addressed and changed through the court system.

Protasiewicz is a Milwaukee County circuit judge first elected in 2014, and she worked as an assistant district attorney for 26 years before becoming a judge. Protasiewicz led the field in fundraising prior to the primary election, having secured $900,000 before some of her opponents even announced their campaigns.

Republicans have criticized rulings Protasiewicz made in the past, where she refused to give prison time to three different defendants accused of assaulting children.

Kelly previously sat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court when former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) appointed him to serve the remainder of retiring Justice David T. Prosser’s term in 2016. He left the court after failing to secure a full term in the 2020 election, where he lost in the general election to current Justice Jill Karofsky.

Kelly is tied to the Republican efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported last week that the state Republican party paid him $120,000 to advise the party on the fake elector plot. Former Chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin Andrew Hitt also revealed Kelly’s extensive involvement in the fake elector scheme in testimony released by the January 6th committee.

Dorow gained international attention when she presided over the Darrell Brooks case last year. Brooks, who was diagnosed with personality disorder, infamously represented himself when he was on trial for six counts of first-degree homicide for driving an SUV through a 2021 Christmas parade in Waukesha. Dorow shared many heated exchanges with Brooks before giving him six consecutive life sentences.

Dorow and her husband recently purchased a gun range in Waukesha, where they reportedly plan to serve alcohol to patrons in addition to letting them use the range to shoot. The same range was previously shut down after a pregnant woman was grazed by a bullet while dining a quarter mile away.