Susan Crawford wins Wisconsin Supreme Court election, cementing liberal majority

Dane County Judge Susan Crawford won the Wisconsin Supreme Court election on Tuesday, April 1, solidifying the 4-3 liberal majority on the court until at least 2028 and delivering a major defeat to Republicans in the first few months of President Donald Trump’s second term.

Crawford, who was backed by Democrats, defeated Republican Waukesha County judge and former Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel by a total of 55% to 45% of the vote. She will serve a 10-year term on the court starting Aug. 1, replacing retiring liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley.

“I’m so grateful to have earned the trust and support of voters across this great state. And I’m here tonight because I’ve spent my life fighting to do what’s right. That’s why I got into this race, to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of all Wisconsinites,” Crawford said during her acceptance speech.

Before becoming a judge, Crawford was an assistant attorney general for the Wisconsin Department of Justice and later worked as a private attorney. In 2018, she was elected to the Dane County Circuit Court. She’s originally from Chippewa Falls.

The contest was the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history, with at least $107 million spent as of Election Day, according to WisPolitics. It broke a record set just two years ago by the last Wisconsin Supreme Court election, when liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz won a seat on the court. 

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is expected to hear and rule on a number of high-stakes cases in the coming months. These include a lawsuit over abortion access in Wisconsin. The court heard oral arguments in the case in November 2024 and is expected to make a ruling soon. The court is also likely to hear a case on Act 10, a controversial law enacted by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker that stripped most public sector workers of their collective bargaining rights, and it could rule in cases concerning issues such as voting rights, the environment and legislative maps, too.

“We’re deeply grateful to Justice-elect Crawford for her leadership, bringing Wisconsin values to this fight for our freedoms and the rule of law,” Ben Wikler, the chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said in a statement. “As a prosecutor, public servant, attorney in private practice, and circuit court judge, Justice-elect Crawford worked to keep our communities safe and uphold the law. As our next Supreme Court justice, Justice-elect Crawford will continue her lifetime of service to Wisconsin, protecting the basic rights and freedoms guaranteed to Wisconsinites under our constitution.”

Many analysts viewed this race as a referendum on the first few months of Trump’s second term and the actions he’s taken, including the cuts he and the Department of Government Efficiency have made to federal funding.

Crawford won 10 counties that Trump won in November 2024, including Republican strongholds in the Fox Valley. Crawford also outperformed former Vice President Kamala Harris in a number of Democratic counties across the state.

Pam Van Handel, chair of the Republican Party of Outagamie County — which Crawford flipped after Trump won it last year — told Politico she was shocked by the results: “People love Trump, but maybe they don’t love everybody he supports. Maybe I have blinders on.”

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement, “Wisconsin felt the weight of America — and, frankly, the world — on its shoulders in this election.”

“This election was about the resilience of the Wisconsin and American values that define and unite us. This election was about doing what’s best for our kids, protecting constitutional checks and balances, reaffirming our faith in the courts and the judiciary, and defending against attacks on the basic rights, freedoms, and institutions we hold dear,” Evers said. “But above all, this election was as much about who Wisconsinites believe we can be as it was about the country we believe we must be.”

Wikler said in his statement, “In a moment of national darkness, Wisconsin voters lit a candle.”