Chris Taylor, a Wisconsin Appeals Court judge and former Democrat lawmaker, was elected Tuesday to an open seat on the state Supreme Court, securing a 5-2 majority for the court's liberal wing.
The result ensures that control remains intact until at least 2028.
Newsmax and DecisionDesk HQ called the race for Taylor roughly an hour after polls closed. With 75% of the vote counted, Taylor had 60.4%, while her challenger, fellow state Appeals Court judge Maria Lazar, had 39.6%.
Although the race was nonpartisan, progressives backed Taylor and conservatives backed Lazar.
Taylor's victory marks the fourth straight for liberal-backed candidates to the state's highest court. It also could signal voter sentiment ahead of November's midterm elections, when the governor's office, control of the Legislature, and several competitive congressional seats will be up for grabs.
Throughout her campaign, Taylor sought to define herself as a careful judge who would act as an independent voice on the bench, despite her past as policy director of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and a Democrat state lawmaker, according to the Wisconsin Examiner.
Taylor will join Justices Jill Karofsky and Susan Crawford as the third former Dane County Circuit Court judge on the state Supreme Court. Under its current liberal majority, the court has overturned Wisconsin's 1849 criminal abortion law and struck down the state's legislative maps as unconstitutional.
Although Lazar's campaign was endorsed by the state Republican Party, it received less financial support from the state GOP and allied donors than recent conservative candidates Dan Kelly and Brad Schimel, according to the Examiner. Lazar argued she was the true independent in the race, while her opponent would act as a partisan on the bench.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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