4/4/23, 11:38 PM
Wisconsin Supreme Court Election: Protasiewicz Wins With Abortion Message - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/04/us/politics/wisconsin-supremecourt-protasiewicz.html
Liberal Wins Wisconsin Court Race, in Victory for Abortion
Rights Backers
Janet Protasiewicz prevailed in the state’s highly consequential contest for the Supreme
Court, which will now be likely to reverse the state’s abortion ban and end the use of
gerrymandered legislative maps.
By Reid J. Epstein
Published April 4, 2023
Updated April 5, 2023, 12:09 a.m. ET
MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin voters on Tuesday chose to upend the political direction of their
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Janet Protasiewicz, a liberal Milwaukee County judge, defeated Daniel Kelly, a conservative
former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who sought a return to the bench. With 90 percent
of votes counted, Judge Protasiewicz led by 10 percentage points.
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“Our state is taking a step forward to a better and brighter future where our rights and
freedoms will be protected,” she told jubilant supporters
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Judge Protasiewicz, 60, shattered long-held notions of how judicial candidates should
conduct themselves by making her political priorities central to her campaign. She made
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explicit her support for abortion rights and called the maps, which gave Republicans nearsupermajority control of the Legislature, “rigged” and “unfair.”
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Her election to a 10-year term for an officially nonpartisan seat gives Wisconsin’s liberals a
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4-to-3 majority on the court, which has been controlled by conservatives since 2008. Liberals
will hold a court majority until at least 2025, when a liberal justice’s term expires. A
conservative justice’s term ends in 2026
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/04/us/politics/wisconsin-supreme-court-protasiewicz.html
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4/4/23, 11:38 PM
Wisconsin Supreme Court Election: Protasiewicz Wins With Abortion Message - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/04/us/politics/wisconsin-supremecourt-protasiewicz.html
Liberal Wins Wisconsin Court Race, in Victory for Abortion
Rights Backers
Janet Protasiewicz prevailed in the state’s highly consequential contest for the Supreme
Court, which will now be likely to reverse the state’s abortion ban and end the use of
gerrymandered legislative maps.
By Reid J. Epstein
Published April 4, 2023
Updated April 5, 2023, 12:09 a.m. ET
MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin voters on Tuesday chose to upend the political direction of their
state by electing a liberal candidate to the State Supreme Court, flipping majority control
from conservatives, according to The Associated Press. The result means that in the next
year, the court is likely to reverse the state’s abortion ban and end the use of gerrymandered
legislative maps drawn by Republicans.
Janet Protasiewicz, a liberal Milwaukee County judge, defeated Daniel Kelly, a conservative
former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who sought a return to the bench. With 90 percent
of votes counted, Judge Protasiewicz led by 10 percentage points.
“Our state is taking a step forward to a better and brighter future where our rights and
freedoms will be protected,” she told jubilant supporters at her victory party in Milwaukee.
The contest, which featured over $40 million in spending, was the most expensive judicial
election in American history. Early on, Democrats recognized the importance of the race for
a swing seat on the top court in one of the country’s perennial political battlegrounds.
Millions of dollars from out of state poured into Wisconsin to back Judge Protasiewicz, and a
host of national Democratic groups rallied behind her campaign.
Judge Protasiewicz, 60, shattered long-held notions of how judicial candidates should
conduct themselves by making her political priorities central to her campaign. She made
explicit her support for abortion rights and called the maps, which gave Republicans nearsupermajority control of the Legislature, “rigged” and “unfair.”
Her election to a 10-year term for an officially nonpartisan seat gives Wisconsin’s liberals a
4-to-3 majority on the court, which has been controlled by conservatives since 2008. Liberals
will hold a court majority until at least 2025, when a liberal justice’s term expires. A
conservative justice’s term ends in 2026
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/04/us/politics/wisconsin-supreme-court-protasiewicz.html
2/2