Liberals flip Wisconsin Supreme Court as Janet Protasiewicz defeats Dan Kelly

Liberals in Wisconsin secured a major victory by electing Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz to the state Supreme Court and effectively flipping the ideological control of the body for the first time in fifteen years.

Protasiewicz easily defeated her conservative opponent Daniel Kelly to win a full 10-year term, according to an Associated Press projection. As of 9:00 p.m. CST, Protasiewicz lead over Kelly 57% to 43%. The race was the most expensive of its kind and tripled the previous spending record by more than triple, according to WisPolitics.com. Spending surpassed $45 million in the race as both parties were eager to secure the court to uphold their agenda.

With Protasiewicz’s victory, the path is now open for the now-liberal Court to overturn controversial laws put in place by the Republican-controlled state legislature on issues including abortion rights, voting rights and the drawing of congressional maps. The current maps are heavily gerrymandered in favor of Republicans, even after Gov. Tony Evers (D) attempted to rebalance them before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against him.

The new liberal majority could change the standards for drawing maps and remove the conservative advantage in Wisconsin, which is historically a competitive purple state. Balanced maps could also give the Democrats a chance to regain ground in the state House, which Republicans hold 64-35, and the state Senate, which currently favors Republicans 21-11. Protasiewicz’s win also adds more certainty to next year’s presidential election; Republicans paid Kelly to advise them on their fake elector scheme in 2020, which was only narrowly blocked by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

An issue perhaps even more prominent than gerrymandering is abortion rights, which Wisconsinites lost after Roe v. Wade was overturned last June. A law from 1849 that makes abortion a felony went back on the books last June. Evers again tried in vain to reverse the outdated law, but the Republicans in the legislature made no effort to change or get rid of the law. Protasiewicz has made it clear that she supports abortion rights, making it highly likely that the 1849 law will be thrown out should the new court hear a case that challenges its legality.

Although this was a massive win for Democrats, the liberal advantage on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court will be in jeopardy in just two years when Justice Ann Walsh Bradley’s term expires. Below is a full list of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices, their ideological leaning and the year their term expires.

Wisconsin Supreme Court

• Ann Walsh Bradley (L-2025)
• Rebecca Dallet (L-2028)
• Jill Karofsky (L-2030)
• Janet Protasiewicz (L-2033)
• Rebecca Bradley (C-2026)
• Annette Ziegler (C-2027)
• Brian Hagedorn (C-2029)

Protasiewicz will succeed retiring Justice Patience Roggensack, whose 19-year career as a Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice will end in July.