The most expensive state judiciary election has come to an incendiary close. The once deeply conservative state now faces the decisions of liberal judge Janet Protasiewicz, who flattened her opponent to win a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat. The court now has a progressive left-wing majority and has set its sights on abortion and redistricting.
Protasiewicz took down former state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly, a conservative, by eleven percentage points. She spoke, of course, the Joe Biden script of doing the will of the people and that “our democracy will prevail.”
A battered and obviously stung Kelly conceded without any encouraging words:
“I wish, in circumstances like this, I would be able to concede to a worthy opponent, but I do not have a worthy opponent.”
The race was the highest voter turnout in a spring election not involving a presidential candidate. Over 36% of eligible Wisconsin voters went to the polls besting the previously held record from 2011 in a Supreme Court Race.
Wisconsin Braces for Big Change
The judiciary will be the last stop in the battle for abortion rights. Wisconsin still has an 1849 law banning the procedure in the books and “makes it a felony to perform an abortion at any stage of pregnancy unless it’s done to save a pregnant person’s life.”
Since the reversal of Roe v. Wade, which superseded the archaic law, no abortions have been allowed in the state: And that seems to have driven people to the polls in droves. Protasiewicz has been, like most progressives, very outspoken on the issue, turning it into the most important facet of the political race. The Wisconsin Democratic Party appreciated her passion.
Ben Wikler (Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for Democratic Party of Wisconsin)
“Reproductive freedom and access to safe and legal abortion is the central, defining issue in this race,” claimed Ben Wikler, chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. And he seems to have been right. The timing is perfect: There is currently a case in the courts by Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul challenging the 19th-century law. That challenge will likely go all the way to the state’s supreme judicial, and it looks promising for passage now that Protasiewicz will be officially on the bench on August 1.
Another change barreling down the rails will be the drive for radical redistricting. The new high court has consistently declared that congressional lines have been unfairly drawn and redrawn for years. As a result, the state’s congressional districts are tilting more toward the GOP. Wisconsin is historically near dead even in most statewide elections, but Republicans are a hair’s breadth away from supermajorities in both chambers. Those GOP fires could be doused down the road.
Progression for Progressives
The latest state and local elections around the nation prove the electorate’s mindset is changing. The progressive wing of the Democratic Party is demanding and getting changes, from dog catcher all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Centrists are all but forgotten or labeled ineffectual. But conservatives will watch to see if the Badger State continues embracing the new radical left and which states will rebel or follow suit.
