Gov. Scott Walker is calling a win by a liberal candidate for State Supreme Court a serious blow to the conservative movement.
Rebecca Dallet took down her opponent Michael Screnock by 12 points Tuesday night fora seat on the state Supreme Court in the state’s spring election.
Kenosha County was one of 24 Wisconsin counties President Donald Trump won in 2016 that backed a liberal candidate for the supreme court seat. Kenosha resident Jerry Pfeifer said he didn’t know what to expect out of the race.
“I consider a lot of my ideas to be conservative, but I actually think we were leaning heavily too far that way,” said Pfeifer.
Walker warned his base via social media that the state is at risk of a "blue wave." Democrat David Sobol believes his party is enthusiastic to head to the polls.
“Enough people, after they’re offended enough, are motivated,” he said.
Republican Jim Klemko thinks too many conservatives stayed home.
“Republicans are perhaps a little complacent after some of the wins that they have had,” he said.
In Kenosha County, Dallet won 57 percent of the vote. UW-Milwaukee professor and political expert Mordecai Lee called it an astonishing result.
“If you look at the results of Supreme Court races in Wisconsin for about 12 years, whenever there was a showdown election between somebody who is right of center and somebody who is left of center, the person right of center always won,” he said.
Back in 2016, Republicans prevailed in Kenosha County. Trump won by the slimmest of margins over Hilary Clinton and House Speaker Paul Ryan won by a landslide. Lee believes Dallet’s win shows the tide is turning.
“This is a major change in Wisconsin politics, it might even mean that Scott Walker is now the underdog for governor,” he said.
Dallet’s victory makes Wisconsin the second state to have six women on the State Supreme Court.
