By Arlette Saenz

(CNN) — Judge Chris Taylor has won a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, expanding the liberal majority on the panel in a key battleground state.

Taylor, a state appeals court judge from Dane County, defeated conservative judge Maria Lazar, a state appeals court judge from Waukesha County. Liberals have now secured a 5-2 majority on the court, solidifying their hold potentially through the end the decade.

The two women ran to replace retiring Justice Rebecca Bradley, a conservative. The race was technically nonpartisan, but the liberal victory marks another bright spot for Democrats, who have seen heightened enthusiasm and success in recent elections.

The match-up between Taylor and Lazar did not receive as much national attention as the state’s 2025 judicial race, which turned into a referendum of Elon Musk after he unsuccessfully poured millions of his personal fortune in support of the conservative candidate.

Taylor spent nine years as a Democratic legislator in the state assembly and was an attorney and policy director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. The liberal judge put abortion rights at the center of her campaign advertising.

She significantly outraised her opponent, bringing in more than $5.6 million to Lazar’s $900,000. Most of the $6 million spent on advertising came from Taylor and her allies.

The liberal win could have long-lasting implications in Wisconsin, which is home to potentially competitive midterm races and an upcoming presidential race in 2028. Another state Supreme Court seat will be up for grabs in 2027 after conservative Justice Annette Ziegler announced her retirement earlier in the year.

Top Democrats, including several with eyes on potential 2028 runs, looked for ways to boost Taylor’s campaign. Former US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel hit the battleground state last month while former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy signed fundraising e-mails for Taylor, a spokesperson for the liberal judge said.

Eric Holder, who leads the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, campaigned in the state in the final stretch while former President Barack Obama posted an online call to turn out for Taylor.

Taylor, a state appeals court judge from Dane County, spent nine years as a Democratic legislator in the state assembly and was an attorney and policy director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. Lazar, a state appeals court judge from Waukesha County, was formerly an assistant state attorney general who defended former GOP Gov. Scott Walker’s Act 10, which effectively ended collective bargaining rights for most public-sector workers, and Republican redistricting efforts in the state in 2011.

Though the state has swung between political parties on the presidential level, a liberal winning streak in the state Supreme Court races began in 2020. Liberals reclaimed the majority in 2023 and extended their control of their court in last year’s contest when liberal Justice Susan Crawford beat conservative Judge Brad Schimel by 10 points.

In her announcement last summer that she was retiring from the state Supreme Court, Bradley warned of an “alarming shift” towards “bitter partisanship” on the court.

“The conservative movement needs to take stock of its failures, identify the problem, and fix it,” Bradley wrote.

Graul, who ran Ziegler’s races for the Supreme Court, said successful conservative candidates in the past have fit a similar profile – judges with prior experience as prosecutors and strong backing from law enforcement – which he believes Lazar embodies.

But he argued conservatives in judicial contests also will need to focus on winning back suburban voters, particularly in the southeast portion of the state.

“We’ve got to figure out a way to communicate to those voters in a way that appeals to their sense of fairness,” he said.

The-CNN-Wire
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