Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates Janet Protasiewicz and Daniel Kelly will move on to the general spring election following the results of Tuesday’s primary.
Protasiewicz received the majority of votes at 46%, while Kelly received 24%. Candidates Jennifer Dorow and Everett Mitchell received 22% and 7% of votes, respectively.
In Dane County, 142,660 ballots were cast out of 388,794 registered voters, making the voter turnout 36.7%. Protasiewicz had 96,963 votes and Kelly had 12,225.
The spring election – scheduled for Tuesday, April 4 – will ascertain who succeeds conservative Justice Patience Roggensack on the supreme court. Currently, the court holds a 4-3 conservative majority.
Protasiewicz describes herself as a judicial liberal, while Kelly is a judicial conservative. The winner of the general election determines whether a conservative majority remains in the court or if the ideological balance leans liberal for the first time since 2008.
The election of a new supreme court justice holds high stakes in Wisconsin and will decide the future of key topics – such as abortion access and voter rights – in the state.
