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Protasiewicz: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Kelly: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 50% | |||||||||||||
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| Elections in Wisconsin |
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The 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election was held on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, to elect a justice to the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a ten-year term. Milwaukee County circuit judge Janet Protasiewicz defeated former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Daniel Kelly, effectively flipping the ideological balance of the court from a conservative to liberal majority.
Incumbent justice Patience D. Roggensack chose to retire after 20 years on the court; she had identified as a conservative and voted consistently with the conservative 4–3 majority on the court. Protasiewicz and Kelly advanced from the February 21 nonpartisan primary, receiving 46% and 24% of the votes, respectively. Although Wisconsin Supreme Court justices are officially nonpartisan, Kelly was identified as being the Republican-aligned candidate and Protasiewicz the Democratic-aligned candidate.[2][3][4] Other candidates in the 2023 primary included conservative Waukesha County circuit judge Jennifer Dorow and liberal Dane County circuit judge Everett Mitchell.[5]
The race was widely considered to be a de facto referendum on legal abortion access in Wisconsin,[6] but election coverage also often focused on how the court would rule on future cases involving politically charged issues of voting rights and redistricting.[7] This election also took place in the aftermath of Donald Trump's false claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election, with some national journalism focusing on how the outcome of the election could decide how the court would rule if a similar attempt were made to overturn the 2024 election.[8] The election was described as the most important 2023 U.S. election; it became the most expensive judicial race in history, with over $45 million ultimately spent.[9][10][a] Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler called it "the most important election nobody's ever heard of."[15]
Protasiewicz won the election by 11.02 percentage points, which flipped the court to a liberal majority. Kelly lost by a slightly wider margin than his own defeat three years prior. Protasiewicz took office on August 1, 2023.
- ^ "Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Results". The New York Times. April 4, 2023. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- ^ Epstein, Reid J. (April 4, 2023). "Wisconsin's High-Stakes Supreme Court Race: What to Watch". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
- ^ Johnson, Shawn (March 30, 2023). "Dan Kelly says his politics don't matter in Wisconsin's Supreme Court race. Supporters say Republican priorities hang in the balance". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
- ^ Shur, Alexander (February 21, 2023). "Janet Protasiewicz to face Dan Kelly in Wisconsin Supreme Court general election". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
- ^ Candidates on Ballot by Election - 2023 Spring Election - 4/4/2023 (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. January 10, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
- ^ Bauer, Scott (April 4, 2023). "Abortion access at stake in Wisconsin Supreme Court race". Washington Post. Associated Press. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
- ^ Shur, Alexander (February 21, 2023). "Janet Protasiewicz to face Dan Kelly in Wisconsin Supreme Court general election". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
- ^ "'The most important election nobody's ever heard of'". POLITICO. January 16, 2023.
- ^ "WisPolitics review: Spending in Supreme Court race surpasses $45 million". Wispolitics.com. March 30, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ "Wisconsin Supreme Court race spending tops $24 million". Wispolitics.com. March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ Ax, Joseph (February 21, 2023). "Wisconsin Supreme Court race pits liberal vs conservative with abortion on the line". Reuters. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
stakeswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Daily Kos Elections Live Digest: 2/20". Daily Kos. February 20, 2023.
- ^ Bishop, Tyler (November 10, 2015). "The Most Expensive Judicial Election in U.S. History". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ Lutz, Eric (February 15, 2023). "An Election That Could Spell the Fate of Democracy Is About to Happen in Wisconsin". Vanity Fair. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).