{"id":25796,"date":"2023-04-04T21:55:17","date_gmt":"2023-04-05T04:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=25796"},"modified":"2023-04-04T22:10:42","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T05:10:42","slug":"liberal-judge-wins-in-wis-supreme-court-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/04\/04\/liberal-judge-wins-in-wis-supreme-court-showdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Liberal judge wins in Wis. Supreme Court showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The race that could rebalance political power in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dan<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The contest between former state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly, right, a conservative, and liberal Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz, has been unusually contentious for a judicial campaign. | Morry Gash\/AP Photo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By ZACH MONTELLARO<\/a> and MADISON FERNANDEZ<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

04\/04\/2023 04:30 AM EDT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Updated: 04\/04\/2023 10:52 PM EDT (Politico.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liberal Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz crushed her opponent on Tuesday in Wisconsin\u2019s Supreme Court election. The outcome of the contest will likely determine the fate of abortion rights and other key issues in the top presidential battleground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conservatives currently hold a 4-3 majority on the state Supreme Court \u2014 an advantage that\u2019s helped the right lock in power for the Republican-dominated legislature. But Protasiewicz\u2019s win could provide a new check on the state GOP. She will be sworn in this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The contest between former state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly, a conservative, and Protasiewicz has been unusually contentious for a judicial campaign. The lone general election debate between the two was cutting, and the opposing sides lobbed brutal attack ads back and forth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly acknowledged his loss on Tuesday evening, but savaged the now-justice elect in his concession speech.”I wish in circumstances like this, I would be able to concede to a worthy opponent, but I do not have a worthy opponent,\u201d he said, calling Protasiewicz\u2019 campaign \u201cbeneath contempt\u201d that launched \u201crancid slanders.\u201d He said she would damage the integrity of the court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protasiewicz struck a more optimistic tone. \u201cIt means that our democracy will always prevail,\u201d she said at her victory night party. \u201cToo many have tried to overturn the will of the people. Today\u2019s result shows that Wisconsinites believe in democracy and the democratic process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The election has drawn outside national press \u2014 and a gusher of money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spending in the race exploded and surpassed $45 million as of late last week, according to <\/a>WisPolitics.com<\/a>, roughly tripling the previous state judicial race record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were some signs that the money is translating into more voters. The February primary for this seat drew the highest ever turnout for a spring primary contest \u2014 more than 960,000 voters. Over a fifth of voters<\/a> showed up for for that election \u2014 which typically has turnout percentages in the low-to-mid teens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The outcome of the race will determine the course of everything from a 1840s abortion ban winding its way through the courts to congressional and legislative maps that all but ensure GOP control. It could also have implications for the 2024 presidential election in the crucial swing state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople ask me \u2026 whether it\u2019s the most important race,\u201d said Brian Schimming, the chair of the state Republican Party. \u201cAnd I always say this is the most consequential race facing Wisconsin in decades.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Trump<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>ELECTIONS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Battle for control of Wisconsin Supreme Court sees liberal and conservative advance to final round<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

BY MADISON FERNANDEZ<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly 410,000 people had voted early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state Supreme Court is expected to rule on access to abortion in the state in the coming months. Wisconsin has a 19th century law on the books that bans the abortion in almost all circumstances that will eventually land in front of the state Supreme Court. In the interim, providers in the state have stopped performing the procedure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gov. Evers calls for referendum to overturn Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pro-abortion rights and anti-abortion groups poured millions into the contest, and those involved say it has drawn out an intense groundswell<\/a> of grassroots supporters on both sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protasiewicz and her allies have made it central to the campaign. \u201cReproductive freedom and access to safe and legal abortion is the central, defining issue in this race,\u201d Ben Wikler, the chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, said in an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abortion was mentioned in roughly a third of television ads coming from Protasiewicz\u2019s campaign and other allied groups, according to data from the ad tracking service AdImpact. It was virtually non-existent in ads from the other side, appearing in just 1 percent of ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The race could also have a significant impact on the state\u2019s congressional and legislative lines<\/a>. Despite the state being close to 50-50 in most statewide elections, Republicans are on the cusp<\/a> of supermajorities in both chambers, and the state\u2019s congressional districts have a firm tilt toward the GOP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats in the state are eager to challenge the lines, and Protasiewicz regularly calls the maps unfair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Wisconsin<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>ELECTIONS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wisconsin\u2019s Supreme Court race could be the beginning of the end for GOP dominance<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

BY ZACH MONTELLARO AND MEGAN MESSERLY<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her campaign pointed out that Kelly worked for the state Republican Party<\/a>, and has recently charged that Kelly is also saying how he would rule on future cases<\/a> in interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state has elected governors, senators and presidents on razor-thin margins for years, with a competitive Senate race \u2014 and presidential contest \u2014 on tap for next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The race that could rebalance political power in the state. The contest between former state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly, right, a conservative, and liberal Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz, has been unusually contentious for a judicial campaign. | Morry Gash\/AP Photo By ZACH MONTELLARO and MADISON FERNANDEZ 04\/04\/2023 04:30 AM EDT Updated: 04\/04\/2023… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[363],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25796"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25796"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25798,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25796\/revisions\/25798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}