In the weeks following the November general election that saw Wisconsin choose both Republican former President Donald Trump and Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin the state will now shift its focus to a spring race that will will determine the state Supreme Court’s ideological balance.
In April, liberal Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford is expected to face off against Waukesha County Circuit Judge Brad Schimel, a former Republican attorney general. No other candidates have entered the race.
Crawford and Schimel are vying for the seat being vacated by liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, the court's current longest-serving justice. Her retirement sets up another battle for control of the state's highest court just two years after more than $50 million was poured into a race that created a liberal majority for the first time in more than a decade. As she departs, the same partisan interests are expected to create another expensive battle for control of the court.
Announcing her retirement plans, Walsh Bradley, who has served on the court since 1995, said "it's just time to pass the torch (and) bring fresh perspectives to the court."
Schimel was elected to lead the state Department of Justice in 2014 and lost his 2018 reelection bid to Democrat Josh Kaul by less than a percentage point the same year Democratic Gov. Tony Evers defeated Republican former Gov. Scott Walker. Before leaving office, Walker appointed Schimel to the Waukesha County Circuit Court.
