In a race marked by contrasting ideologies, candidates Maria Lazar and Chris Taylor have made their final appeals to voters in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, both emphasizing their commitment to judicial independence while rallying support from local political bases.
At the break of dawn on Friday, conservative candidate Maria Lazar engaged with supporters over coffee at the Eau Claire County Republican Party headquarters. The gathering was a modest one, with fewer than a dozen Republicans in attendance, surrounded by political memorabilia including a cardboard cutout of Donald Trump and signs that provocatively stated “Deport liberals.”
Just the night before, Lazar and her opponent, liberal judge Chris Taylor, engaged in their first and only debate prior to the upcoming election scheduled for April 7.
Lazar, leveraging her extensive legal background as a private attorney, assistant state attorney general, and judge, emphasized her commitment to the law over politics. She criticized Taylor’s history with Planned Parenthood and as a Democratic representative, while encouraging grassroots efforts to bridge the financial gap in their campaigns.
“This state can speak louder and much more clearer, and say the court is not for sale,” said Lazar. “Justice is not for sale, and we actually want someone on that court who is extremely law nerdy and boring, and doesn’t care about politics at all, and only cares about the law and the Constitution.”
The current race stands in stark contrast to last year’s high-profile $115 million campaign where Elon Musk’s involvement drew significant attention. That race resulted in former Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel losing to liberal Susan Crawford by approximately 10 percentage points.
Polling from Marquette University Law School indicates a large portion of voters remain undecided, which Lazar views positively. “I think the good thing to look at for me is the fact that my opponent has spent over $5 million and the people in the state do not like her, do not want her and do not trust her for a 10 year term on this court,” she commented.
Taylor pitches ‘incredible opportunity’ to resist federal overreach into Wisconsin
On the other side, Chris Taylor’s campaign event at the Brown County Democratic Party headquarters saw her energizing a small group of supporters. She emphasized the election’s significance in protecting democracy and resisting federal encroachment.
“We have an opportunity with this election to strengthen a pro-democracy majority on our court that’s going to protect our rights and freedoms, that’s going to protect our democracy and our elections,” Taylor said, “and that is going to hold and resist the efforts of the federal government to come into our state and to take away and infringe on our independence as a state.”
Expressing pride in her past affiliations, Taylor highlighted her judicial accomplishments and asserted her resolve to defend democratic rights. “I have a spine of steel when it comes to standing up for you, and you all know the stakes of this election,” she said. “We are fighting so hard for our rights: our right to speech, our right to peacefully protest without being subjected to violence, our right to make our own private decisions about our lives and our right to live in a democracy which we have got to protect. It is under threat right now. The good news is that we can do it.”
Reflecting on the quieter tone of this year’s campaign, Taylor expressed optimism about her prospects, emphasizing the need to counteract perceived federal overreach. “All of that is really concerning, and I do hope some of that motivates people to come out and raise their voices and help me get elected to our Supreme Court,” she stated.
The election outcome will determine the composition of the court, with a win for Lazar maintaining a 4-3 liberal majority while a victory for Taylor would expand it to 5-2 in favor of liberals.
