Liberals expanded their majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a closely watched election earlier this month, reinforcing their control in a key battleground state. According to the Associated Press, Chris Taylor, a former Democratic state representative, defeated Maria Lazar, the conservative candidate.
Taylor will replace a retiring conservative justice, and her victory increases the court’s liberal majority to 5-2. “While officially a non-partisan contest, state Supreme Court elections in Wisconsin have become extremely partisan in recent election cycles,” Fox News reported.
In last year’s race, with control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court at stake, outside spending surged, and campaign activity intensified, including significant involvement from out-of-state groups and individuals.
Among the most prominent was Elon Musk, an ally of President Donald Trump, who headlined a rally in the days leading up to the election and appeared wearing a Green Bay Packers-style cheesehead hat. Reports also indicated that Musk distributed $1 million checks to select voters during the campaign period. The liberal candidate won that race by a larger-than-expected margin, giving the court a 4-3 left-leaning majority.
But in this year’s race, the majority was not at stake, so the campaigns were not showered with nearly as much money or resources.
“Tonight the people of Wisconsin stood up for our courts and freedoms, our democracy, our elections, and a strong state Supreme Court that will protect the independence of our beloved state,” Taylor told supporters at her victory celebration.
In her concession speech, Lazar told supporters that “the fight is not over and we will keep fighting for our courts because they are that important.” She lost by a larger-than-expected 19-point margin, reports noted.
“Wisconsin voters showed up and sent another big message to Republicans, securing a liberal majority until 2030!” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in a social media post, quite the statement considering the law and state constitution should be interpreted on a non-partisan basis.
In 2023, liberals gained control of the state Supreme Court, marking the end of a decade and a half of conservative dominance. Since achieving the majority, the liberal justices have overturned several election-related decisions made by the previous conservative majority, including the prohibition on absentee ballot drop boxes.
This year’s campaign has centered around key issues such as abortion rights, congressional redistricting, and union rights cases that are expected to come before the state Supreme Court.
The dispute over the judicial ballot boxes occurred just six months before the elections in November. During this time, Democrats in Wisconsin are focusing on maintaining control of the governor’s office and possibly flipping the state legislature, which has been under Republican control for 15 years.
Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that the conviction of former Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan for obstructing immigration enforcement will stand, rejecting her post-trial efforts to overturn the verdict.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, a Clinton appointee, said the evidence presented during Dugan’s December trial was sufficient for a jury to find that she obstructed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers attempting to arrest her in the courtroom in April 2025.
Following a weeklong trial late last year, the jury convicted Dugan of felony obstruction while acquitting her of a separate charge of concealing an individual facing deportation, Courthouse News Service reported.
Dugan filed a post-trial motion in January asking Adelman to overturn her conviction or grant a new trial. In the filing, Dugan challenged several aspects of the case, including the validity of the administrative warrant for the individual scheduled to appear in her courtroom, the jury instructions, her intent, and the court’s interpretation of the obstruction statute.
Dugan argued that her actions fell within her authority to manage courtroom proceedings, a position she had also raised in pre-trial motions that were previously rejected by the court.