Wisconsin Supreme Court race: high-stakes as election nears

Wisconsin Supreme Court race 3 weeks away

Voters will elect Wisconsin's newest Supreme Court justice on April 1, 2025. Both candidates agree on at least one thing: they both say their opponent risks politicizing the bench.

MILWAUKEE - The next election is almost three weeks away.

It’s an important race that will impact the direction of Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court decides cases that impact your daily life. With more big cases on the horizon, in just 22 days, you'll decide if the court stays liberal or moves back conservative.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court decides some of the state's most controversial issues. Still ahead: cases deciding abortion access in Wisconsin.

Who are the candidates?

The backstory:

Supreme Court candidates are officially non-partisan. But liberals are backing Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford, while conservatives are supporting Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford and Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel

Crawford was previously a prosecutor and an attorney who, at one time, represented Planned Parenthood. She was also part of former Democrat Gov. Jim Doyle's administration. Schimel was previously Waukesha County's district attorney and Wisconsin's Republican attorney general.

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"This is a very consequential election, and it’s one that is going to affect the future of our state, you know, for our kids, and it’s going to affect the fundamental rights and freedoms of all Wisconsinites," Crawford said.

"This court race matters. The job is not done. On Nov. 5, we had the policymakers win in the legislature and the executive branch. If their work is going to be effective, and things are going to follow a stable, constitutional route, we need to make sure that we get out and vote in the judicial elections," Schimel said.

New poll

By the numbers:

A Marquette Law School Poll of Wisconsin registered voters finds 38% didn’t know enough about Schimel to have an opinion of him, while 58% say they don’t know enough about Crawford to have an opinion of her.

The Marquette poll did not ask who would win their vote.

The poll found 90% of registered voters said they support electing our judges. Both admitted there were pros and cons to it in the past, but both said there's value in keeping it in the voters' hands.

"Asking folks to say how they’ll vote for candidates that they largely don’t have an opinion of is, we’ll get a number, but it won't tell us much about what those folks are doing to do in a month," Marquette Law School Poll director Charles Franklin said.

Politics in the courtroom?

What they're saying:

Both candidates agree on at least one thing: they both say their opponent risks politicizing the bench.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford and Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel

"We have a liberal majority on the court that is making law. They are activists," Schimel said. "They are changing the law into what they want it to look like, instead of respecting the proper role of the legislature. I’m running to restore that objectivity and impartiality and neutrality on the court."

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"We want the Wisconsin Supreme Court not to be politicized," Crawford said. "We don’t want somebody like Brad Schimel politicizing our constitution and our laws. And we want a Supreme Court that can’t be bought."