MILWAUKEE — Janet Protasiewicz will be the next justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, TMJ4 News projects. The liberal-leaning judge defeated conservative-leaning Daniel Kelly in the high-stakes election.
According to TMJ4 News election results, Protasiewicz received 57 percent of the vote, compared to Kelly's 43 percent. That's with 64 percent of precincts reporting or 1,082,640 votes.
State supreme court races are traditionally non-partisan. But this election has been quite partisan, with both sides spending heavily on attack ads on television. Politicos in both parties believe the outcome of the Wisconsin Supreme Court race could influence how state supreme court races are contested in 21 other states where state supreme court justices are elected.
Plus, the high court has a big say on the legality of abortion in Wisconsin, which under a 150-year-old law is currently outlawed.
Watch TMJ4 News live election results for races across Wisconsin on April 4 here.
Watch Janet Protasiewicz's victory speech
Watch Dan Kelly's concession speech
Control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
The winner of the race will determine majority control in the Wisconsin Supreme Court. On the heels of this election, the high court may make important decisions regarding legal abortion, election districts and redistricting, election laws, union rights and other hot-button issues.
Conservative-leaning justices have controlled the court for the past 15 years. The court came within one vote of overturning President Joe Biden's election win in Wisconsin in 2020. Conservative-leaning Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn gave the key vote in rejecting former President Donald Trump's attempt to invalidate 200,000 votes and win the state.
The winner of this Wisconsin Supreme Court election will determine control of the court for the next two years, until another seat on the court is open for election, as the Associated Press notes.
The current seat opened up when Justice Patience Roggensack decided to not run for re-election. Conservatives' lead narrows to 3-3 on the court with conservative-leaning Roggensack off the bench.
Most expensive court race in history
The Wisconsin Supreme Court race is the most expensive state supreme court race to date in the United States, the AP reports.
The combined $30 million in spending makes Wisconsin's Supreme Court race the most expensive race for a court seat in U.S. history; the record before was $15.4 million spent in the Illinois Supreme Court race almost 20 years ago.
What did the candidates focus on?
Protasiewicz focused her campaign on abortion rights. When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Roe v. Wade, the law regarding abortions in Wisconsin reverted to an 1849 law that outlaws abortions in almost every case. Protasiewicz wants to repeal the 1849 law and revert the law regarding abortions to what it was like before the SCOTUS decision. Members of the state Supreme Court are likely to make the decision regarding legal abortion in Wisconsin.
Kelly meanwhile has focused on portraying Protasiewicz as weak on crime. Kelly's supporters allege Protasiewicz gave soft sentences to criminals, some of whom went on to re-offend, according to the AP.
Other odds and ends
In the primary election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Janet Protasiewicz received 47% percent of the vote, while Daniel Kelly received 25% percent of the vote. Protasiewicz and Kelly defeated candidates Jennifer Dorow (a Waukesha County judge who oversaw the Darrell Brooks case) and Everett Mitchell (a Dane County judge).
The winner of the Wisconsin Supreme Court race earns a 10-year stay on the bench.
Who are the candidates for Wisconsin Supreme Court?
TMJ4's Charles Benson and Shannon Sims sat down with the four candidates for Wisconsin Supreme Court before the primary election and asked them how they would shape the high court and the state.
Below are the biographies of the two candidates on the April 4 ballot:
Janet Protasiewicz
Judge Janet Protasiewicz is one of two candidates running to be on the state Supreme Court. She's been a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge since 2014 and is considered one of two liberal candidates seeking the job.
Judge Protasiewicz graduated from UW-Milwaukee and has a law degree from Marquette University. She has been elected twice to the bench. Prior to being a judge, Protasiewicz worked 25 years as a prosecutor in the Milwaukee County District Attorney's office.
Protasiewicz has been outspoken on the campaign trail and in campaign TV spots about her support for a woman's right to make her own decision on abortion.
Watch TMJ4's full interview with Protasiewicz:
Dan Kelly
Former Justice Dan Kelly is running again to be on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He was appointed to the job by Gov. Scott Walker in 2016. This is Kelly's second run at a ten-year term on the state Supreme Court after losing in the 2020 election.
Kelly identifies himself as a voice for judicial conservatism, with nearly 20 years in private practice. He graduated from Carroll University and has a law degree from Regent University of Law and now lives in Waukesha County.
Kelly lists his vote on the court to overturn the Safer at Home order by Gov. Evers's Administration during the pandemic as one of his accomplishments.
The nonpartisan primary race is Feb. 21. Only two candidates will advance to the April election.
Watch TMJ4's full interview with Kelly:
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