Janet Protasiewicz defeated Daniel Kelly in the nonpartisan general election for Wisconsin Supreme Court on April 4, 2023. Protasiewicz’s election means the balance of the court will switch from a 4-3 conservative majority to a 4-3 liberal majority for the first time in 15 years.
The election determined who would succeed retiring conservative Justice Patience Roggensack, whose term expires in July 2023. While supreme court elections are officially nonpartisan, justices and candidates are considered to be liberal or conservative. With Roggensack—a member of the court’s conservative majority—retiring, the general election determined the ideological control of the court.
Wisconsin media identified abortion, election administration, and legislative redistricting as legal issues the court could address following the election.
