Wisconsin voters elect Susan Crawford to state Supreme Court

Wisconsin voters have elected Susan Crawford to Wisconsin’s Supreme Court beating their opponent Brad Schimel. AP called the race at 9:16 p.m. The court will now retain a 4-3 liberal majority.

Crawford grew up in Chippewa Falls and currently sits as a judge on Dane County Circuit Court Branch 1. Her career began as an Assistant Attorney General with the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

During a recent campaign stop in Superior, Crawford touched up what she thinks the citizens of Wisconsin want out of a Supreme Court judge.

“I think that they want to make sure that our constitutional rights are protected and the courts are in the spot to do that,” said Crawford.

Republicans including President Donald Trump and the world’s wealthiest person, Elon Musk, lined up behind Schimel. Democrats including former President Barack Obama and billionaire megadonor George Soros backed Crawford.

The contest was the most expensive court race on record in the U.S., with spending exceeding $90 million, according to a tally by the Brennan Center for Justice. That broke the previous record of $51 million, for the state’s Supreme Court race in 2023.

Early voting numbers, as of March 31, were 57% higher, or about 235,000 ballots greater, than the 409,755 early ballots counted the day before the last Supreme Court election in 2023.

Liberals held a 4-3 advantage on the court prior to the election, but the retirement of a liberal justice this year put the ideological balance in play.