Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates Janet Protasiewicz and Dan Kelly faced off Tue. in their first and sole debate.
What's happening? Wisconsinites will vote April 4 to fill in outgoing Justice Patience Roggensack's seat on the court.
The stakes are high: this April's Supreme Court election could flip the court's majority from conservative to liberal.(AP)
Conservatives currently hold a 4–3 majority on the state court; this April's election could end their 15-year reign. (AP)
The race will also decide the fate of the state's 1849 abortion ban, which bans nearly all abortions in Wisconsin. (CNN)
Wisconsin's Supreme Court race is also the most expensive Court race in U.S. history with $27M spent so far. (WisPolitics)
Who is Protasiewicz? Protasiewicz has served as a judge on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court since 2014. (Ballotpedia)
Protasiewicz has been endorsed by all three members of the court's liberal bloc and the state Democratic party. (AP)
Who is Kelly? Kelly served as a justice on Wisconsin's Supreme Court for four years after being appointed in 2016. (AP)
Kelly has been endorsed by conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley. Kelly was also endorsed by Trump in 2020. (WPR)
Tue.'s debate was heated: the two clashed over issues such as gerrymandering and the state's abortion ban. (CNN)
Both candidates were asked if Supreme Court justices should be elected or appointed. Protasiewicz said:
Protasiewicz also criticized Kelly for advising Wisconsin Republicans on efforts to overturn the 2020 election:
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Kelly was paid $120K+ to advise the state GOP on "election integrity."
Former state GOP chair Andrew Hitt also testified to the Jan. 6 Committee that Kelly worked with him on the issue. (NBC)