“Janet Protasiewicz, a liberal Milwaukee County judge, won her race on Tuesday and advanced to the general election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the most consequential American election on the 2023 calendar,” the New York Times reports.
“On April 4, Judge Protasiewicz will face one of two conservatives for a 10-year term on the court: Daniel Kelly, a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, or Jennifer Dorow, a Waukesha County judge known for presiding over the trial last fall of a man who killed six people by driving through a 2021 Christmas parade. Late Tuesday, The A.P. had not yet projected which candidate would advance along with Judge Protasiewicz.”
“The winner of the officially nonpartisan race will tip the balance of the state’s seven-member Supreme Court, which has been controlled by conservatives since 2008. If Judge Protasiewicz prevails, the court will have a four-member liberal majority that would be likely to overturn the state’s 1849 law forbidding abortion in nearly all cases, redraw Wisconsin’s heavily gerrymandered legislative and congressional maps, and influence how the state’s 10 electoral votes are awarded after the 2024 presidential election.”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “The consequences of losing control of the court for conservatives will draw heavy spending on behalf of the conservative candidate who will come in second on Tuesday.”
