\n<\/p>\n
An election location in Madison, Wisconsin<\/span>Joe Timmerman\/Wisconsin Watch\/Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Tuesday\u2019s Wisconsin <\/span>Supreme Court election received far less attention<\/a> than a similar contest a year ago, when Elon Musk spent $25 million<\/a> trying to flip the balance of power on the court. Back then, the world\u2019s richest man\u2014who, at the time, was also a key White House adviser\u2014personally hand-delivered $1 million checks to voters while wearing a cheesehead hat.<\/p>\n This time, majority control of the state\u2019s highest court wasn\u2019t at stake. But the outcome was still hugely significant for politics in Wisconsin and nationally.<\/p>\n The massive 20-point victory<\/a> by Chris Taylor, a former Democratic state legislator and appellate judge in Madison, expands the progressive majority on the court from 4-to-3 to 5-to-2. That extends a remarkable winning streak<\/a> for Democratic-backed judicial candidates, who\u2019ve now won five of the last six Supreme Court races in the swing state. It\u2019s a stunning turnaround from a decade ago, when a conservative majority dominated the court and upheld much of then-Gov. Scott Walker\u2019s (R) right-wing agenda<\/a>, such as his efforts to crush unions, make it harder to vote, and gerrymander in the GOP\u2019s favor. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2020, when conservatives on the Wisconsin court held a 4-3 majority, Donald Trump and his allies attempted to convince the justices to overturn the state\u2019s presidential election results. They nearly succeeded<\/a>. Just one of the conservatives, Justice Brian Hagedorn, sided with the liberals<\/a> in narrowly upholding Joe Biden\u2019s win.<\/p>\n Taylor\u2019s victory on Tuesday means progressives are set to control the court\u2019s majority through at least 2030. That will make it nearly impossible for Republicans to use the state courts to hijack elections. Taylor said during a debate<\/a> last week with her opponent, Maria Lazar\u2014a fellow appellate judge who previously served in Walker\u2019s administration\u2014that she was \u201cvery concerned that we might have efforts to suppress the vote\u201d and that \u201cthis is why we need a strong Supreme Court that\u2019s going to hold the federal government accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n Taylor\u2019s win also makes it likely that progressives will retain their majority through the post-2030 redistricting cycle. That will make it tougher for Republicans in the state legislature to engage in gerrymandering<\/a> like they did after 2010, when they locked in lopsided majorities for a decade-and-a-half.<\/p>\n In 2023, the court\u2019s new progressive majority invalidated the state\u2019s GOP-drawn legislative maps<\/a>, leading to competitive elections<\/a> in both chambers of the legislature. And the court could soon decide whether to strike down the state\u2019s congressional map<\/a>, which gives Republicans a 6-to-2 advantage in its US House delegation.<\/p>\n Other recent decisions by the court have been similarly consequential. In July 2025, the court struck down Wisconsin\u2019s 1849 abortion ban<\/a>, which went back into effect after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade<\/em>. It also restored mail ballot drop boxes<\/a> and said the legislature could not fire the state\u2019s top election administrator<\/a>. The court might also soon revisit the legality of Walker\u2019s law revoking collective bargaining rights<\/a> for public sector unions, which has decimated<\/a> labor\u2019s influence in the state.<\/p>\n Wisconsin Supreme Court elections often serve as a barometer for national politics. When Musk\u2019s attempt to buy the court backfired last year and progressive judge Susan Crawford won by 10 points, it sent a signal that democracy could defeat oligarchy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Taylor won by twice that margin. If Crawford\u2019s victory was a landslide by Wisconsin standards, Taylor\u2019s was a tsunami. Taylor won at least 24 counties<\/a> that Trump carried in 2024. Democrats also prevailed in the mayor\u2019s race<\/a> in Waukesha, the county seat of a longtime GOP stronghold in suburban Milwaukee. The results are another indicator that a blue wave is forming in November.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n