By Scott Bauer -
The Associated Press
Wisconsin voters will decide the outcome of the most expensive judicial race in US history on Tuesday in a heated contest that will likely determine the fate of abortion access, the future of Republican-drawn legislative roadmaps, rights around voting and years of other GOP policies.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has been under conservative control for 15 years, having the final say on a wide range of policies enacted by the Republican-controlled Legislature.
The court came one vote away from annulling the narrow victory of the president, Joe Biden, in 2020.
Democratic-backed candidate Janet Protasiewicz faces Republican-backed Dan Kelly in a race that has nearly tripled the $15 million she cost in 2004 in Illinois, which had been the most expensive judicial race in the history of the United States (this race cost about 45 million dollars).
Wisconsin Supreme Court nominees Dan Kelly, supported by the Republicans, and Janet Protasiewicz, supported by the Democrats, participate in a debate Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in Madison, Wisconsin. Morry Gash / AP
Democrats hope to seize control of the high court for at least the next two years, including the run up to and after the 2024 presidential election. Four of the last six presidential elections in Wisconsin have been decided by less than one percentage point and Trump went to court in 2020 in his unsuccessful attempt to overturn his roughly 21,000-vote loss in the state.
Protasiewicz, a Milwaukee County judge, largely focused her campaign around abortion, saying she supports the right, but stopping short of saying how she would rule on a pending lawsuit challenging Wisconsin's 174-year-old ban that was enacted a year after the creation of the state.
She called Kelly an "extremist partisan" and said Kelly would uphold the ban if he won.
He has not ruled on the matter.
Kelly has been vocal in her opposition to abortion in the past, including in a 2012 blog post in which she said the Democratic Party and the National Organization for Women were committed to normalizing the taking of human life.
She has also done legal work for the Wisconsin Right to Life organization.
Historic image: Donald Trump's motorcade arrives at court under heavy security
April 4, 202302:15
Kelly is a former judge who has also done work for Republicans, advising them on a scheme to get fake GOP voters to vote for Trump after the 2020 election even though he had lost.
He is endorsed by the three major anti-abortion groups in the state, while Protasiewicz is endorsed by Planned Parenthood and other abortion rights advocates.
In a sign of how personal the race has become, Protasiewicz has been endorsed by another Milwaukee County judge who is also the daughter of retiring conservative judge Pat Roggensack.
Judge Ellen Bostrom wrote in an opinion piece a week before the election that Kelly was "unfit" for office because of her involvement in the fake voter scheme.
Protasiewicz called Kelly a "real threat to our democracy" for that job.
Kelly was endorsed by Trump in 2020 during an unsuccessful run for the court after he served four years on the court following one appointment.
Trump did not endorse it this year.
Protasiewicz's endorsements include Hillary Clinton.
A historic trial begins that could allow therapeutic abortion in El Salvador
March 22, 202301:33
Kelly tried to distance himself from his work for the Republicans, saying it was "irrelevant" to how he would work as a judge.
She tried to turn the campaign around Protasiewicz's record as a judge, arguing that she was soft on crime and accusing her of being "bought and paid" by Democrats.
The Wisconsin Democratic Party donated more than $8 million to Protasiewicz's campaign, prompting her to vow to recuse herself from any case brought by the party.
Kelly refused to promise that she would walk away from any case brought by her supporters, including the state chamber of commerce.
The landmark impeachment case against Trump began seven years ago.
This is his story
April 4, 202301:46
In addition to abortion, Protasiewicz was outspoken about Wisconsin's legislative maps, calling them "rigged."
Kelly accused her of prejudging that case, the abortion case and others that could go to court.
The winner will serve a 10-year term starting in August.
