FILE - This combination of file photos shows former Republican attorney general Brad Schimel and Susan Crawford. (AP Photo/Susan Crawford for Wisconsin, File)

Wisconsin Circuit Court Judges Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel will face off in another off-year state Supreme Court election on April 1 that will determine the ideological majority on the court.

Whoever wins the election will replace liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who is retiring. Liberals are looking to hold the seat, while conservatives are looking to gain one.

Crawford is a former prosecutor who most recently served as a judge on the Dane County Circuit Court. During an interview with WCPT 820’s Patti Vasquez last Friday, Crawford cited abortion rights being overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court as one of the main issues that will be effected by this race.

“As a result, we now have a couple of cases moving through the Wisconsin Supreme Court that will determine whether women are able to make their own choices about their families and about their health care. Whether doctors will be able to provide those services to women,” Crawford said. “Or whether we’ll become another state like Texas where women are literally bleeding to death on a hospital gurney while their doctors struggle to decide whether they’re close enough to dying to get the healthcare they need.”

There is currently a 4-3 liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments last November on a lawsuit challenging the state’s 1849 abortion ban. Regardless of how the court rules on abortion, the Wisconsin GOP has not dismissed attempting to ban abortion again depending on the parameters set by the judicial branch.

Although the race is technically nonpartisan, Crawford has been endorsed by the Wisconsin Democratic Party and the four liberal Justices currently serving on the state Supreme Court.

Running as a conservative, Schimel serves as a Waukesha County Circuit Court judge and has the endorsement of the Milwaukee Police Association and the Koch Brothers-affiliated group Americans for Prosperity.

Schimel served as Wisconsin’s Attorney General from 2015-19 under former Gov. Scott Walker (R). During that time, Schimel led a federal lawsuit to repeal the Affordable Care Act and cost taxpayers millions on an anti-abortion crusade. Schimel has labeled himself as “firmly pro-life,” calling the 1849 abortion ban “valid.”

Schimel’s campaign website features tough-on-crime rhetoric, claiming his dedication to protecting sexual assault victims. In 2017, Schimel came under scrutiny for a backlog of over 6,000 untested rape kits in the state. Schimel lied on multiple occasions, falsely claiming that there was no backlog and at other times stating that hundreds of the rape kits had been tested when only nine had.

The liberal majority on the state Supreme Court has been in place since 2023, when Justice Janet Protasiewicz was elected and defeated her conservative opponent Dan Kelly by 203,084 votes. After Protasiewicz took office in Aug. 2023, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) considered impeaching her if she did not recuse herself from a redistricting case.

Protasiewicz and the other liberals overturned gerrymandered legislative maps drawn by Republicans in December 2023.

“This race is a race that has some really significant consequences. There are literally issues that are life or death issues for Wisconsin citizens,” Crawford said.