Wisconsin Just Locked in a Stunning Liberal Supreme Court Majority

Wisconsinites on Tuesday elected the liberal and pro-abortion candidate Chris Taylor to the state Supreme Court. This marks the third liberal win in a row, giving the court—in a state that initially banned abortion after Roe was overturned—a liberal majority until at least 2030.

Taylor, who served in the state assembly from August 2011 until August 2020, won with more than 60% of the vote. Her opponent, Maria Lazar, called the overturning of Roe “wise” and recently floated the idea of replacing the state’s 20-week abortion ban with a fetal heartbeat law. Take notes, MAGA! You’re not wanted here.

“Tonight, the people of Wisconsin stood up for our rights and freedoms, our democracy, our elections, and a strong state Supreme Court that will protect the independence of our beloved state,” Taylor said after declaring victory. “Once again, Wisconsin showed the entire nation that we believe that the people should be at the center of government.”

In April 2025, liberal candidate Susan Crawford also won a state Supreme Court election, despite Elon Musk funneling at least $25 million into her opponent, conservative Brad Schimel. Before that, Justice Janet Protasiewicz won in 2023, defeating former Justice Dan Kelly and giving the panel a liberal majority for the first time in 15 years. Justices serve 10-year terms, and the court now holds a 5-2 liberal majority. 

“Judge Taylor’s victory means Wisconsinites gain another champion on the court who will stand up to corporate greed, defend reproductive rights and our fundamental freedoms, and protect our democracy,” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in a statement. “Wisconsin voters made it clear: they don’t want a judiciary that will simply rubber stamp Donald Trump’s toxic agenda.”

Victory statement from Justice-elect Chris Taylor

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— Dan Shafer (@danshafer.bsky.social) April 8, 2026 at 3:27 AM

In the lead-up to Tuesday, Taylor and Lazar clashed on abortion rights, which became an especially hot topic during a debate on Friday.

After SCOTUS killed Roe, the Badger State invoked a 19th-century abortion ban to threaten anyone who “intentionally destroys the life of an unborn child” with up to six years of prison and a $10,000 fine. The state Supreme Court overturned this archaic legislation in July, thus replacing it with a 2015 law that bans abortion after 20 weeks. Lazar called this 20-week limit “within the parameters of where people in the state believe it should be,” adding that overturning Roe was “wise.” 

“It’s not been very wise for victims of rape and incest who now live in states where abortion has been outlawed,” Taylor shot back. “It’s not very wise for women who have lost their lives in states because they couldn’t get help when a pregnancy went wrong.” Before being elected to the state assembly, Taylor was an attorney and policy director for Planned Parenthood Wisconsin, and then served as a judge on a District 4 Circuit Court in Dane County, Wisconsin. 

Taylor will be sworn in in August, and will be replacing Justice Rebecca Bradley, a conservative and staunch anti-abortionist who—as a student—compared abortion to the holocaust for her school newspaper. She retired last year. 

Liberals get another chance to snag a court seat next year, with conservative Justice Annette Ziegler declining to run for a third term. Then, from 2028 to 2030, three more justices are set to face re-election. For conservatives to win back their majority, they’d have to hold on to their two remaining conservative seats, while flipping two liberal seats, and well, I wouldn’t be placing any bets if I were them.

Tuesday’s win also continues Democrats’ winning streak, in which liberals are—effectively—flipping seats in historically red states or districts, for reasons we assume are obvious. So… if anyone asks, I myself will be celebrating with a Pabst Blue Ribbon and a bucket of cheese. Let’s go, Wisconsin.

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