On Monday, I spoke at the University of Wisconsin at Madison–my first time in the Badger State. As I drove from Milwaukee to the state capital, I scanned local radio stations. Virtually every commercial concerned the upcoming race for the state supreme court. Janet Protasiewicz (pronounced pro-tuh-SAY-witz), the "liberal" candidate, was facing off against Daniel Kelly, the "conservative" candidate. I use scare-quotes because the state does not provide party affiliation for judicial races, but everyone knew where the candidates stood. Indeed, the election had largely become a referendum on two primary issues: abortion and gerrymandering. The current Supreme Court, which has a 4-3 conservative majority, had upheld the maps drawn by the Republican-controlled legislature. And that same Court has not recognized a right to abortion under the state Constitution. The victor of the election would cast the deciding vote on these two issues, and many more. Unsurprisingly, money flooded into the state–more than $45 million. Protasiewicz, in particular, received about $9 million from the state Democratic party.
Moreover, the candidates themselves jumped into the fray. Kelly routinely attacked Protasiewicz as someone who would ignore the Constitution and rule of law. I heard him give a live interview on a conservative call-in program as I was driving back to the airport. It sounded like a speech any politician would give. Protasiewicz, on the other hand, seemed to strongly signal how she would vote on the abortion and gerrymandering. Don't take my word for it. Here is the New York Times:
Judge Protasiewicz, 60, shattered long-held notions of how judicial candidates should conduct themselves by making her political priorities central to her campaign. She made explicit her support for abortion rights and called the maps, which gave Republicans near-supermajority control of the Legislature, "rigged" and "unfair." . . .
Judge Protasiewicz made a calculation from the start of the race that Wisconsin voters would reward her for making clear her positions on abortion rights and the state's maps — issues most likely to animate and energize the base of the Democratic Party.
In an interview at her home on Tuesday before the results were known, Judge Protasiewicz (pronounced pro-tuh-SAY-witz) attributed her success on the campaign trail to the decision to inform voters of what she called "my values," as opposed to Justice Kelly, who used fewer specifics about his positions.
"Rather than reading between the lines and having to do your sleuthing around like I think people have to do with him, I think I would rather just let people know what my values are," she said. "We'll see tonight if the electorate appreciates that candor or not."
