The 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election was held on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, to elect a justice to the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin. Location The Wi ...

for a ten-year term.

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous cou ...

circuit judge

Janet Protasiewicz Janet Claire Protasiewicz (; ; born December 3, 1962) is an American attorney and jurist from Wisconsin who has served as a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court since August 2023. Protasiewicz was elected to the court in the 2023 election, ...

defeated former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Daniel Kelly, effectively flipping the ideological balance of the court from a conservative to liberal majority. Incumbent justice

Patience D. Roggensack Patience Drake "Pat" Roggensack (born July 7, 1940) is an American attorney and jurist. She is a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, serving since 2003, and previously served as the 26th chief justice of the court from 2015 through April 2021 ...

chose to retire after 20 years on the court; she had identified as a conservative and voted consistently with the conservative 4–3 majority on the court. Protasiewicz and Kelly advanced from the February 21 nonpartisan primary, receiving 46% and 24% of the votes, respectively. Although Wisconsin Supreme Court justices are officially

nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

, Kelly was identified as being the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

-aligned candidate and Protasiewicz the

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

-aligned candidate. Other candidates in the 2023 primary included conservative

Waukesha County Waukesha County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat and largest city is Waukesha. Waukesha Co ...

circuit judge

Jennifer Dorow Jennifer R. Dorow (' Evans; born 1970) is an American attorney from Wisconsin. She is a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Waukesha County, serving since 2011. She previously served as chief judge of the 3rd district of Wisconsin circuit courts ...

and liberal

Dane County Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin. The county seat is Madison, which is also the state capital. Dane County is the ...

circuit judge Everett Mitchell. The race was widely considered to be a ''de facto'' referendum on legal abortion access in Wisconsin, as well as how the court rules on future cases involving

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

, voting rights, and redistricting. Because the court rejected Donald Trump's false claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election, the outcome of this race could determine how the court rules if a similar attempt is made to overturn the 2024 election. The election was described as the most important 2023 U.S. election; three weeks before the election it had already become the most expensive judicial race in history.

Wisconsin Democratic Party The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler. Important issues for the state party include support for workers and unions, strong public ed ...

chair

Ben Wikler Benjamin McDonald Wikler (born February 3, 1981) is an American politician and the chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin since July 2019. He is a former Senior Advisor at MoveOn. Early life and education Ben Wikler grew up in Madison, ...

called it "the most important election nobody's ever heard of." Protasiewicz won the election by 11.02 percentage points, which flipped the court to a liberal majority. Kelly lost by a slightly wider margin than his own defeat three years prior. Protasiewicz took office on August 1, 2023.

Primary election

Candidates

Advanced

* Daniel Kelly, former Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court (2016–2020) *

, Judge of the

Circuit Court (Branch 24)

Eliminated in primary

, Judge of the

Circuit Court (Branch 2) * Everett Mitchell, Judge of the

Circuit Court (Branch 4)

Fundraising

Advertising

On January 20, 2023, Janet Protasiewicz became the first candidate to announce a purchase of TV ads, allocating $700,000 for ads to air in the three weeks leading up to the February 21 primary. The ads, which began airing on January 26, highlight Protasiewicz's support for abortion rights and feature women warning “extremists want to ban abortion. Even in cases of rape and health of the mother.” Fair Courts America, a conservative advocacy group funded by megadonors

Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein Richard Ellis Uihlein ( ; born 1945) and Elizabeth Uihlein are American billionaire businesspeople, founders of Uline and conservative donors. Richard is also an heir to the Schlitz brewing fortune.Daniel Kelly. Fair Courts America then launched a $500,000 TV ad campaign in support of Kelly on February 2. The ads warn “

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

liberals are trying to take over the Wisconsin Supreme Court. That’s why we need to elect conservative Justice Dan Kelly.” Fair Courts America later increased their advertising budget for Kelly to $2.4 million. Also in early February, the progressive group A Better Wisconsin Together announced a purchase of ads opposing

, including $720,000 for TV ads and $110,000 for digital ads. They later increased their ad budget to $1.9 million. The ads accuse Dorow of having "a long history of keeping criminals, even sexual predators, out of prison."

Daily Kos Daily Kos ( ) is a group blog and internet forum focused on the U.S. Democratic Party and liberal American politics. The site includes glossaries and other content. It is sometimes considered an example of " netroots" activism. Daily Kos w ...

theorized that A Better Wisconsin Together, which is affiliated with the national group

ProgressNow ProgressNow, previously the Rocky Mountain Progressive Network, is a progressive 501(c)(4) advocacy organization in the United States. Founded in 2003, ProgressNow bills itself as a network of state based communications hubs which act as a marketin ...

, believed that Dorow would be more difficult to defeat and was trying to prevent her from reaching the April general election. On the same day, Dorow announced her first TV ad campaign, a $60,000 buy highlighting her service in the trial of Darrell Brooks. Dorow later increased her ad spending to $400,000, and the advocacy group Conservative Action for America followed up with a $246,000 buy in support of her. Protasiewicz released two additional ads on February 7 which stress her support for fairness and public safety and poke fun at the difficulty of pronouncing her surname. Two conservative groups, Wisconsin Alliance for Reform and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, simultaneously spent a combined $770,000 on a commercial portraying Protasiewicz as weak on crime. Protasiewicz hit back on February 10 with an ad defending her history as a prosecutor and accusing Dorow and Kelly of representing child predators during their time as defense attorneys. This brought her total ad spending to $1.25 million. Protasiewicz's fundraising advantage allowed her to run an ad during the

2023 Super Bowl Super Bowl LVII is the upcoming championship game of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2022 NFL season. The game is scheduled to be played on February 12, 2023, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. It will be the fourth Super ...

, the only candidate in the race to do so. On February 14, Women Speak Out PAC, which is affiliated with

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (formerly Susan B. Anthony List) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the U.S. by supporting anti-abortion politicians, primarily women, through its SBA List ...

, announced it would spend "six figures" on pro-Kelly ads highlighting his opposition to abortion. Kelly and Everett Mitchell did not air any ads themselves, and no outside groups ran ads in support of Mitchell. In total, over $9 million was spent in the primary.

Endorsements

Forums

2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court primary election results map by county

Primary results

Observers saw the February 21 primary as a contest between Kelly and Dorow, as Protasiewicz was widely expected to win a plurality. Kelly won second place over Dorow through his commanding victories in Wisconsin's rural areas. Dorow was strongest in the vote-rich

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

suburbs, but found little support outside of southeast Wisconsin. The two more liberal candidates won a combined 54% of the vote, while the two more conservative candidates won a combined 46% of the vote.

General election

Advertising

Campaign spending was greater than any judiciary race in United States history, with outside political action committees accounting for more than two thirds of total expenditures. The Protasiewicz campaign raised $12 million and received $11.3 million in outside spending; her opponent raised $2.2 million and received $15.4 million in outside spending. Early and large donations to Protasiewicz via the Democratic Party enabled her campaign to start airing ads weeks before Kelly. Her opponent received the bulk of his support through dark money PACs, including $5.3 million in spending by PACs controlled by conservative billionaires

Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein Richard Ellis Uihlein ( ; born 1945) and Elizabeth Uihlein are American billionaire businesspeople, founders of Uline and conservative donors. Richard is also an heir to the Schlitz brewing fortune.Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. Two days after the primary election, Janet Protasiewicz spent at least $135,000 on two new ads. The first continued her previous criticism of Daniel Kelly for representing child predators as a defense attorney, while the second claims he would uphold Wisconsin's abortion ban if elected to the Supreme Court. A Better Wisconsin Together simultaneously booked an additional $500,000 worth of ads in support of Protasiewicz. Protasiewicz's ad spending quickly swelled; by February 27, it had reached $5.4 million. A Better Wisconsin later increased their ad budget to $1.3 million, with one ad hitting Kelly for a past comment he made comparing

social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

to slavery. On February 27, Fair Courts America booked close to $1 million worth of ads labeling Protasiewicz as soft on crime. Fair Courts America booked another $550,000 worth of ads on March 6. Meanwhile, the conservative group Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce spent $3.2 million in its opening buy, running ads accusing Protasiewicz of issuing low sentences in sexual assault cases. On March 6, Protasiewicz spent an additional $460,000 on ads. One of her ads claimed that Kelly had taken a bribe to un-recuse himself from a case, an accusation that Kelly denied. Another ad accused him of participating in plans to appoint

fake electors The Trump fake electors plot involved a scheme devised after the 2020 United States presidential election by former president Donald Trump and his allies in seven key states to create and submit fraudulent certificates of ascertainment that fa ...

in 2020 due to Donald Trump's false claims of fraud in the presidential election. As of March 7, liberal groups had spent nearly twice as much as conservative groups in the general election. Protasiewicz had spent over $7 million, buoyed by an additional $1.7 million from A Better Wisconsin Together; Kelly had not aired any ads himself, instead relying on $3.2 million from Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and $1.7 million from Fair Courts America. By March 15, Protasiewicz had spent $9.1 million and A Better Wisconsin Together had spent $2 million while Kelly still had yet to purchase any ads, though Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce had spent $3.4 million and Fair Courts America had spent $2.3 million. There were three times as many Protasiewicz ads on TV compared to Kelly ads, as ad rates are significantly cheaper for candidates than they are for PACs. In mid-March, Kelly made a $150,000 ad buy, his first of the entire campaign, while

Everytown for Gun Safety Everytown for Gun Safety is an American nonprofit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was created in 2013 when Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America joined force ...

made a $425,000 purchase in support of Protasiewicz on March 20.

Endorsements

Endorsements in bold were made after the primary election.

Debates

Results

By congressional district

Protasiewicz won 4 of 8 congressional districts, including two that are represented by Republicans.

Aftermath

Analysis

The result, percentage-wise, repeated much of Kelly's performance in his unsuccessful 2020 bid for the Court. Protasiewicz won by 11 percentage points. Protasiewicz became the first Democratic-endorsed candidate to win the city of Waukesha in several election cycles, with Kelly underperforming his 2020 performance in

, a historic GOP suburban stronghold. The

Democratic Party of Wisconsin The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler. Important issues for the state party include support for workers and unions, strong public educ ...

and other liberal groups invested heavily in organizing voters in

as well as the

WOW counties WOW counties is a common media term in southeastern Wisconsin in the United States which refers to the initials of Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington counties. They lie to the west, north, and northwest of Milwaukee, respectively, and are part of ...

( Waukesha, Ozaukee, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

). In Ozaukee, Kelly won by five percentage points, compared to

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusett ...

's 30-point win of the county in his 2012 campaign for president. Statewide turnout in the second round, despite being higher than usual for a spring election in an odd-numbered year, was lower than in the 2016 second round. However, turnout rose in 10 counties, including Dane, which recorded 23,000 more votes than in 2016, while Milwaukee County had the largest decline, casting 45,000 fewer votes than in 2016. Analysts believed that Protasiewciz's victory challenged long-held traditions among judicial candidates. Instead of presenting herself as nonpartisan, Protasiewicz made her support for abortion rights and her opposition to gerrymandering a centerpiece of her campaign, even calling the Republican-drawn state legislative maps "rigged" and "unfair." In contrast, Kelly gave less specifics about his political positions during the campaign, but had a record of anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ statements, in addition to working for the Wisconsin Republican Party in 2020 as a part of the attempt to overturn the presidential election. Kelly had heavily criticized Protasiewicz during the campaign for running on political issues, calling her a "politician in a black robe". Protasiewicz argued that judicial candidates should be open about their political beliefs, saying that "rather than reading between the lines and having to do your sleuthing around...I would rather just let people know what my values are."

Impact

Protasiewicz won a decisive victory, flipping the ideological balance of the court to a liberal majority. The court is expected to rule on

and

gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

in Wisconsin. Kelly acknowledged his defeat, but he refused to concede to Protasiewicz by name, stating that he had an "unworthy" opponent. The election was also seen as a culmination of a series of partisan involvements in Wisconsin Supreme Court elections going back to

Michael Gableman Michael J. Gableman (born September 18, 1966) is an American lawyer and former justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. A Republican, he has been described as a hard-line conservative. From June 2021 until August 2022, Gableman was employed as a ...

's 2008 defeat of incumbent justice

Louis B. Butler Louis Bennett Butler Jr. (born February 15, 1952) is a former justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Butler was appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Jim Doyle in August 2004; his term expired on July 31, 2008. He is the first African Amer ...

, which was the first defeat of an incumbent justice since 1967. Gableman's win, which flipped the balance to the right, began a series of high-profile conservative wins for the court in 2011, 2015 and 2019, which defended many of the policies of Governor Scott Walker's Republican trifecta (including

2011 Wisconsin Act 10 The 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, also known as the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill, is legislation proposed by Republican Governor Scott Walker and passed by the Wisconsin Legislature to address a projected $3.6 billion budget deficit. The legislation prim ...

) and later served as a foil for the policies of

Tony Evers Anthony Steven Evers (born November 5, 1951) is an American educator and politician serving as the 46th governor of Wisconsin since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Wisconsin's Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2009 ...

. The string of conservative victories was interrupted by the 2018 election of liberal candidate

Rebecca Dallet Rebecca Frank Dallet (born July 15, 1969) is an American lawyer and a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Prior to her 2018 election, she served ten years as a Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge in Milwaukee County. Earlier in her career she work ...

and again by the 2020 election of liberal candidate

Jill Karofsky Jill Judith Karofsky (born July 15, 1966) is an American attorney, judge, and justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Karofsky served as a Wisconsin Circuit Court judge in Dane County from 2017 until her election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. ...

, who defeated then-incumbent conservative justice Kelly and narrowed the conservative majority to one seat. Protasiewicz joined the court on August 1, 2023. The new liberal-majority court is expected to address the state's abortion ban quickly. A lawsuit against the ban filed by Democratic Wisconsin Attorney General

Josh Kaul Joshua Lautenschlager Kaul (born February 2, 1981) is an American lawyer, politician and member of the Democratic Party who has served as the 45th Attorney General of Wisconsin since January 2019. Early life and education Kaul is the son of Pe ...

will be heard in a

circuit court in May 2023 and is expected to be appealed to the state supreme court later in the year. Additionally,

Law Forward Law Forward is an American non-profit legal advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. Jeff Mandell and Doug Poland founded Law Forward in October 2020. Poland was notable for his role as a lead trial attorney in '' Gill v. Whitford'', a ...

president Jeffrey Mandell pledged to file a lawsuit against the state's legislative and congressional maps the day after Protasiewicz was seated. Mandell followed through on his promise, filing a lawsuit on August 2 that challenged Wisconsin's maps.

Notes

References

External links

Dorow campaign website

Kelly campaign website

Mitchell campaign website

Protasiewicz campaign website
{{2023 United States elections Wisconsin Supreme Court elections

supreme court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Primary election

Candidates

Advanced

Eliminated in primary

Fundraising

Advertising

Endorsements

Forums

Primary results

General election

Advertising

Endorsements

Debates

Results

By congressional district

Aftermath

Analysis

Impact

See also

Notes

References

External links