Liberal Wins Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Ahead of Abortion Ruling

(CTN News) – Voters in Wisconsin elected liberal Janet Protasiewicz to the state Supreme Court on Tuesday, giving the court a liberal majority in advance of potential decisions affecting the 2024 presidential election, including on the constitutionality of a prohibition on abortion.

The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University dubbed the race between Protasiewicz and Daniel Kelly, a conservative candidate, the most expensive judicial election in American history.

Abortion Rights a Major Factor in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court Election

An examination by WisPolitics.com as of Monday found that expenditures had topped $42.3 million, smashing the previous high of $15.2 million by a wide margin.

The result is a major win for pro-choice activists, as it flips a court from conservative to liberal control after a conservative majority held it for 15 years.

This could have far-reaching effects on contentious issues like voting rights and legislative redistricting that have divided Americans into other states.

However, abortion was the primary issue, as the Supreme Court’s decision on whether to uphold the state’s 1849 abortion ban is anticipated within the next few months.

Last year, the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and give individual states the right to prohibit abortion resulted in implementing that law.

According to the Associated Press, with 75% of the votes tallied, Protasiewicz had 55.4% of the vote to Kelly’s 44.6%, giving him a lead of nearly 160,000 votes.

The large margin in a state usually very close indicates that the Roe ruling has benefited Democrats politically by bringing motivated voters to the polls.

Protasiewicz made abortion a central issue of her campaign, declaring in one ad that she believes “a woman’s freedom to make her own abortion decision” should be protected. Meanwhile, pro-life and pro-choice organizations both endorsed Kelly.

Protasiewicz said at a victory party, “Tonight we celebrate this historic victory that has reignited hope in so many of us.”

In the first national elections since the Roe v. Wade decision, Republicans also underperformed forecasts last November.

In an emotional speech, Kelly announced his concession to his fans, calling Protasiewicz a “deceitful, dishonorable, despicable opponent.”

However, he continued, “I respect the decision that the people of Wisconsin have made.”

What happens in this race will significantly impact the political landscape of the swing state. Before and after the 2024 presidential election, when Wisconsin is again expected to play a pivotal role as a swing state, the court could issue important voting rulings, just as it did in 2020.

The court may also reexamine the state’s legislative and congressional districts, which Republicans drew to their benefit.

While there are no party affiliation requirements to vote, neither Protasiewicz nor Kelly made any real attempt to hide their political leanings.

State Democratic and Republican parties and outside organizations, such as anti- and pro-abortion rights groups, spent millions of dollars backing their chosen candidates.

Democrats warned that a Kelly win could have been disastrous for Wisconsin’s democracy, citing that a lawsuit filed by Republican Donald Trump challenging his 2020 presidential election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden came within one vote of succeeding in the court.

Related CTN News:

Google Search For “Lance Reddick Cause of Death” Hits 2 Million