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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Alice Herman in Madison and Sam Levine in Milwaukee

Liberal judge wins Wisconsin supreme court election, flipping ideological balance

Janet Protasiewicz at her election night watch party in Milwaukee.
Janet Protasiewicz at her election night watch party in Milwaukee. Photograph: Mark Hertzberg/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock

In a historic election, the liberal judge Janet Protasiewicz won her race for a seat on Wisconsin’s supreme court on Tuesday. Her win will flip the ideological balance of the state’s highest court, which has been controlled by a conservative majority for 15 years.

Elections and democracy observers have called this election the most consequential one of the year, with abortion rights, redistricting and election rules at stake. The race pitted Protasiewicz, a Milwaukee circuit court judge and former prosecutor, against Dan Kelly, a former Wisconsin supreme court justice with ties to election deniers and the far right.

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