Update 1/24/25: The next big election will take place on April 1. Judge Susan Crawford will face MAGA candidate Brad Schimel for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Their race will determine whether Wisconsin Democrats can retain the pro-democracy court majority that produced the state’s first fair elections since 2010.
After we elected Judge Janet Protasiewicz in 2023, Wisconsin was able to create fair maps for state elections. Now we need to do the same for their congressional elections (US House of Representatives.) This process could gain us 2 seats in the US House if completed in time for the 2026 elections.
Update 2/19/24: Wisconsin has new fair maps for state legislative districts. Another court battle is needed for Congressional districts.
Update 2/15/24: What does 2024 hold for WI? The critical election will be the US Senate race; none of the eight US House Republicans are on the Democratic vulnerable representatives list.
The big story for November will be the re-election of US Senator Tammy Baldwin and… MEGA-money. Finances played a major role in the 2022 US Senate election in WI: Democrat Mandela Barnes, a popular former lieutenant-governor, initially led the race but was beaten by Republican incumbent Ron Johnson AFTER the Republicans poured more than $77M into Johnson’s coffers. Barnes, dangerously under-funded, lost to Johnson by only 1 point. The challenge in 2024 will be to not let history repeat itself in WI, Tammy Baldwin’s opponent is likely to be multimillionare Republican businessman Eric Hovde, who has already lined up support from the National Republican Senatorial Committee. So we should expect another high-$$ race for Baldwin’s re-election.
Update 10/16/23: Wisconsin Republicans retreat from threats to impeach Judge Janet. They vow to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Update 4/5/2023: Judge Janet Protasiewicz wins by 11 points! Indivisible summarizes the consequences:
Janet Protasiewicz’s victory tonight creates a liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court ahead of anticipated seismic cases on abortion access, voting rights, and fair maps.
It puts an end to the judicial rubber stamp for the rigged legislature’s experiments in anti-majoritarian governance in a state that has become a testing ground for the GOP’s efforts to lock in minority rule across the country.
This win will likely result in abortion rights being restored in the state. It could lead to the first fair elections in years for the state’s legislature and even result in newly competitive seats in the House of Representatives ahead of 2024. Repro rights, LGTBQ+ rights, academic freedom, blocking another Trump coup attempt — cases on all these issues could be decided by a liberal court instead of a MAGA activist majority thanks to this win.
Update 2/21/23 – Tonight is the long-awaited Wisconsin judicial primary election, and liberal Janet Protasiewicz, who we are backing, has just won her primary! She will be running against conservative Daniel Kelly in the April 4 general election. Janet’s strong showing in the primary, where she got nearly twice as many votes as Kelly, makes her the one to beat in April. But we Dems cannot take anything for granted, and the stakes are very high. This election is expected to be the most expensive judicial race in our country’s history, the Republicans are pouring money into the race to defeat Janet. We must keep our momentum going with our postcards, phone calls, texts, and donations – and the full strength of our grassroots support!
January 30, 2023 – The most important race In Wisconsin is for the vacant seat on the State Supreme Court, which currently has a conservative majority. If a Democrat wins the vacant seat, the Court will flip blue. Analysts have called this the critical race of the year, affecting abortion rights, gerrymandering, and many other key issues. But perhaps the most critical action will be if the toxic state legislature tries to subvert the 2024 presidential elections, as they have threatened to do. With a liberal majority, Wisconsin’s highest court could protect the integrity of the federal election.