The 2026 Wisconsin Supreme Court election will be held on April 7, 2026, to elect a justice of the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...

for a ten-year term. The incumbent justice,

Rebecca Bradley Rebecca Lynn Grassl Bradley (born August 2, 1971) is an American lawyer, and justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, serving since 2015. She has been a state judge in Wisconsin since 2012. She was appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Scot ...

, has announced that she will run for re-election. Bradley has served on the court since 2015, she was initially appointed by Governor Scott Walker and was elected to her first ten-year term in 2016. Bradley is associated with the conservative minority on the court, and therefore the 2026 election is not expected to affect the ideological majority of the court, though a liberal victory would result in the court having a 5–2 liberal majority instead of its current 4-3 liberal majority. If more than two candidates file for this seat, a nonpartisan primary election will be held on February 17, 2026, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the April 7 general election. The filing deadline to appear on the ballot in the 2026 election is January 1, 2026.

Background

It has been historically rare for an incumbent to lose a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat, with this only having occurred eight times (

1855 Events January–March * January 1 – Ottawa, Ontario, is incorporated as a city.' * January 5 – Ramón Castilla begins his third term as President of Peru. * January 23 ** The first bridge over the Mississippi River o ...

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

). Additionally, only three of those defeats (1855, 1917, and 1967) were defeats of a previously-elected incumbent like Bradley (the other four defeats were of appointed incumbents); and 1855 and 1917 are the only times incumbent justices were defeated after having previously won a contested election (the incumbent defeated in 1967 had been uncontested in their previous election).

Candidates

Incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

justice Rebecca Bradley has announced that she intends to seek re-election. This will make her the first incumbent justice to seek re-election since

, and the first previously-elected incumbent to seek re-election since

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. If she is opposed on the ballot, 2026 will be the first election since

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

in which a previously-elected incumbent has faced a challenger for re-election.

Declared

, incumbent Supreme Court justice (2015–present) * Chris Taylor,

Wisconsin Court of Appeals The Wisconsin Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court that reviews contested decisions of the Wisconsin circuit courts. The Court of Appeals was created in August 1978 to alleviate the Wisconsin Supreme Court's rising number of appe ...

judge (2023–present) and former

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

(2011–2019)

Declined

*Lyndsey Boon Brunette,

Clark County Clark County may refer to: *Clark County, Arkansas *Clark County, Idaho *Clark County, Illinois *Clark County, Indiana *Clark County, Kansas *Clark County, Kentucky *Clark County, Missouri *Clark County, Nevada, containing Las Vegas *Clark County, ...

circuit judge and former Clark County district attorney (2012–2016) * Pedro Colón, Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge (2023–present) and former state representative (1999–2011) (''endorsed Taylor'') * Sara Geenen, Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge (2023–present) (''endorsed Taylor'') * Rachel Graham, Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge (2019–present) (''endorsed Taylor'')

Endorsements

Notes

References

External links

;Official campaign websites
Rebecca Bradley for Supreme CourtChris Taylor for Supreme Court
{{2026 United States elections Wisconsin Supreme Court elections

Supreme court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Wisconsin Supreme Court election