The liberal prevailed in a technically nonpartisan Wisconsin State Supreme Court race that took on national importance as a proxy fight between Democrats and Republicans supporting President Donald Trump.
Turnout in the race was remarkable for an off-year election in which state supreme court judge was the highest ranking office on the ballot — an indication that Americans remain deeply engaged in the electoral process.
There were 1.8 million votes cast in the state’s last supreme court race in 2023. More than 2.3 million people voted in Tuesday’s contest. Compared with that 2023 race, turnout is higher in every single county.
While that turnout was still low compared to a presidential election (more than 3.4 million people voted in Wisconsin last year) it was much closer to the roughly 2.7 million people who voted for governor in the 2018 and 2022 midterms.
The win by Susan Crawford maintains a liberal majority on Wisconsin’s highest court as they gear up to decide issues ranging from whether the state should adhere to an 1849 abortion law, whether it should redraw congressional maps that favor Republicans and whether Tesla should be able to sell vehicles from its own showrooms.
But the race is also being viewed as a temperature check for the policies of Trump and his chief ally in downsizing government, Elon Musk, who poured tens of millions of dollars into supporting conservative Brad Schimel.
Crawford got 55% of the vote compared to Schimel’s 45%, a solid victory for the liberal Tuesday night.
Comparing a presidential election to a state supreme court race is a fraught and complicated exercise, but there are some interesting contrasts to make.
The liberal judge won in 10 counties carried by Trump last November, which will please Democrats looking to this race for hope. It also continues a trend in American politics, where Democrats, motivated by their opposition to Trump, perform better in lower turnout races outside of the general election.
Among the Trump counties that turned to Crawford is Brown County, a population center which includes Green Bay, although Brown County was also won by the liberal in the 2023 race, Justice Janet Protasiewicz. Musk campaigned in Brown County, wearing a cheesehead hat and handing out $1 million checks in a test of election law.
Crawford actually under-performed Protasiewicz in all but two of the counties she won, but crucially overperformed both former Vice President Kamala Harris and Protasiewicz in Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s most-populated county. Turnout in Milwaukee County increased from 45% to 55% of registered voters since the last 2023 court race, a 10-point jump.
Racine County, south of Milwaukee, is the only county that went for the conservative in 2023 and Trump in 2024, but switched to the liberal Tuesday.
For Trump supporters looking for a silver lining, Schimel, the conservative, won in five counties — Dunn, Grant, Jackson, Lafayette and Pierce — carried by the liberal in the 2023 state supreme court race, although Trump also won those counties in the presidential race.
More voters took part in Tuesday’s contest than the state supreme court contest two years ago. Turnout was nearly 70% in the Democratic stronghold of Dane County — an improvement over the county’s 62% turnout in 2023.
Turnout approached two-thirds in Washington County and approached 70% in Waukesha and Ozaukee counties. All are hotly contested vote centers around Milwaukee.
Turnout appeared to increase the most in the Northwestern part of the state, where Schimel made inroads in counties won by Trump, but not nearly enough to win Tuesday’s race.
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