Liberal judge Chris Taylor was victorious in the election on Tuesday for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Her victory strengthened the liberal control of the court and ensured liberals would have the majority until 2030. It was the second consecutive Supreme Court election in which Wisconsin conservatives endured a defeat after the 2025 election for a seat on the bench, and four out of the last five, including in 2023, when liberals first obtained a majority.
“Certainly, there is discouragement among Republicans and conservatives after having lost four of the last five Supreme Court elections, despite pouring unprecedented amounts of money into the last two races,” said Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law School Poll.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court election in 2025 garnered national attention, with President Donald Trump urging voters to support conservative justices and Elon Musk’s America PAC funding get-out-the-vote initiatives in the state. The election set a record as the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history, with a reported $144.5 spent, according to reports.
Tuesday’s election was to replace the retiring conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley. Elections for Wisconsin Supreme Court justices are officially nonpartisan; however, candidates are typically aligned with political ideologies and backed by political parties. The Democratic-backed Taylor handily defeated her Republican-backed opponent, Maria Lazar, earning 902,875 votes, 60.1% of the total, compared to Lazar’s 597,846 votes, 39.8% of the votes in the election. Taylor will serve a 10-year term.
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Taylor was a Wisconsin Appeals Court judge and made abortion rights an integral part of her campaign, reported the Associated Press. She was reportedly a previous political director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. Taylor criticized her pro-life and Republican opponent in television ads over abortion. Taylor highlighted Lazar praising the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court decision in 2022, which overturned Roe v. Wade, the court case that legalized abortion in the U.S. in 1973. She also placed political ads declaring that “abortion is on the ballot” in the Supreme Court election, reported the Associated Press.
“Once again, Wisconsin showed the entire nation that we believe that the people should be at the center of government and the priority of our judiciary, not the billionaires, not the most powerful and privileged, but the people,” said Taylor in a speech after winning the election.
