Wisconsin Supreme Court race; voters prepare for important decision

Wisconsin Supreme Court race final push

Control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is on the line on Tuesday, April 1. Should it stay liberal or flip conservative? You Decide.

MILWAUKEE - Control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is on the line. Should it stay liberal or flip conservative?

You'll decide on Tuesday, April 1.

Liberal or conservative?

The backstory:

This court has great power on some of the country's most controversial issues and this is the first election into the new term of President Donald Trump.

Conservatives back Brad Schimel and liberals support Susan Crawford. Trump has endorsed Schimel, while former President Barack Obama backs Crawford.

Dane County Judge Susan Crawford and Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel

It's the most expensive Supreme Court race ever. The Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law shows this race has topped $90 million.

Backing the candidates

Local perspective:

"I am for Susan, I’ve met her a number of times," Milwaukee voter Jo Ann Rucker said. "I think she’s a person who works for the people. I know there’s these funny ads about her under sentencing. But there are sentencing guidelines and I think she uses those. She's a good person who works for women and the working public."

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"I’m a big supporter of Act 10, and I am worried about that getting overturned," said Schimel supporter Erik Reichertz. "I feel like it’s been a good restraint on property taxes, been a reasonable balance to the school system, more flexibility with hiring teachers and stuff."

What they're saying:

A flood of campaign ads has hit Wisconsin. But, those ads still haven't swayed Lindsay Wagner.

Wisconsin Supreme Court

"I get the texts. I get the mailers. I get the commercials on the radio. It’s everywhere, maybe I’m glad for it to be done," Wagner said. "I have no opinion, unfortunately. I’ll just keep thinking about it. We have until tomorrow? I’ll keep thinking about it.

Flipping counties

Dig deeper:

FOX6 News crunched the numbers of previous Supreme Court races.

Seven counties flipped from backing conservative Brian Hagedorn in 2019 to liberal candidates in 2020 and 2023, including Brown, Dunn, Jackson, Kenosha, Outagamie, Pierce, and Winnebago.