What to know about the candidates running for Wisconsin Supreme Court in April | The Wisconsin Independent
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This combination of file photos shows former Republican attorney general Brad Schimel and Susan Crawford. (AP Photo/Susan Crawford for Wisconsin, File)

This spring Wisconsinites will elect a new justice to the state Supreme Court, a high-stakes race that will determine ideological control of the court.

Liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who has served on the court for 30 years, announced last year that she wouldn’t seek reelection in 2025. The election to replace her will take place on April 1. Two candidates, conservative former Attorney General Brad Schimel and liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, are on the ballot.

This election comes as the Supreme Court hears cases on a number of key issues such as pollution cleanup, transgender rights, legislative maps, school funding, election law and access to abortion.

Liberals currently hold a 4-3 majority on the court. And while the Supreme Court is technically nonpartisan, its elections tend to draw lots of partisan funding and political attention. According to WisPolitics, a record $56 million was spent in the 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election in which Justice Janet Protasiewicz’s victory flipped the court to a liberal majority. Because the ideological balance of the court is again up for grabs in April’s election, it’ll likely be another expensive election.

Here’s what to know about the candidates.

Brad Schimel

Republican Brad Schimel is currently a judge on the Waukesha County Circuit Court. He previously served as Wisconsin’s attorney general from 2015 to 2019 under former Gov. Scott Walker, but lost a bid for reelection in 2018.

Schimel graduated from Mukwonago High School and received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School. In 2006, Schimel was elected the Waukesha County district attorney, a role in which he served until being elected state attorney general.

Schimel has prioritized a number of conservative issues throughout his career. As attorney general, he joined Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in leading a lawsuit to repeal the Affordable Care Act, defended the GOP-controlled Legislature’s gerrymandered maps, and opposed gun safety initiatives. Schimel has attended events at Mar-a-Lago with President-elect Donald Trump and has been a guest at Trump’s rallies. As recently as Jan. 2, he defended rioters charged over their involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying they were treated unfairly by the court system.

“Another piece of the lawfare manipulation is that they utilize jurisdictions that are overwhelmingly to the left in terms of the voters,” Schimel said to conservative radio personality Vicki McKenna while appearing on her show. “The same thing for these Jan. 6 defendants who were all prosecuted in the Washington, D.C., district, which is overwhelmingly liberal.”

Schimel’s campaign page employs anti-immigrant rhetoric that’s been a staple of recent Republican campaigns.

“From opening the border to releasing criminals on our streets, rogue judges across the nation are putting their radical agenda above the law. Brad Schimel will take back the Wisconsin Supreme Court and end the madness,” his website says.

The conservative group Americans for Prosperity has endorsed Schimel, as have sheriffs, law enforcement officers and firefighters across the state.

Susan Crawford

Susan Crawford grew up in Chippewa Falls and received a bachelor’s degree from Lawrence University and a law degree from the University of Iowa.

She has worked closely with Democrats throughout her career. She worked as an assistant attorney general for the Wisconsin Department of Justice prosecuting criminal cases, chief legal counsel to Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, and for numerous state agencies.

As a private attorney, Crawford represented Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin in a 2014 case over how doctors administer pills used in medication abortions. She was also a partner in the liberal law firm Pines Bach in Madison.

All four liberal justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court have endorsed Crawford, including Bradley. In a statement released by Crawford’s campaign, Protasiewicz said Crawford ”shares our belief in a justice system that gives everyone a fair shot, protects our most basic rights, and holds people accountable.”

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has also endorsed Crawford, as have unions, including the Wisconsin Education Association Council and the Wisconsin Laborers’ District Council, and a slew of judges throughout the state.

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