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Liberal Wins Wisconsin Court Race, in Victory for Abortion Rights Backers [1]
['Reid J. Epstein']
Date: 2023-04-04
MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin voters on Tuesday chose to upend the political direction of their state by electing a liberal candidate to the State Supreme Court, flipping majority control from conservatives, according to The Associated Press. The result means that in the next year, the court is likely to reverse the state’s abortion ban and end the use of gerrymandered legislative maps drawn by Republicans.
Janet Protasiewicz, a liberal Milwaukee County judge, overwhelmingly defeated Daniel Kelly, a conservative former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who sought a return to the bench. With more than 95 percent of votes counted by Wednesday morning, Judge Protasiewicz led by 11 percentage points, a huge margin in the narrowly divided state.
“Our state is taking a step forward to a better and brighter future where our rights and freedoms will be protected,” she told jubilant supporters at her victory party in Milwaukee.
The contest, which featured over $40 million in spending, was the most expensive judicial election in American history. Early on, Democrats recognized the importance of the race for a swing seat on the top court in one of the country’s perennial political battlegrounds. Millions of dollars from out of state poured into Wisconsin to back Judge Protasiewicz, and a host of national Democratic groups rallied behind her campaign.
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[1] Url:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/04/us/politics/wisconsin-supreme-court-protasiewicz.html
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