Wisconsin voters sent another liberal justice to the state supreme court, with Chris Taylor beating the conservative Maria Lazar and giving liberals a 5-2 edge on the high court.
The retirement of Justice Rebecca Bradley, a conservative, gave liberals a chance to further consolidate their hold on the high court ahead of the next presidential election, when the swing state is sure to see challenges to election results.
Taylor, a liberal judge on the state’s court of appeals who previously served as a Democratic lawmaker, was running against Lazar, who is also on the court of appeals and a former deputy state attorney general.
Taylor’s win gives liberals a 5-2 bloc on the bench. Taylor is seen as friendly to voting rights, while Lazar’s views aligned more closely with Republicans, pushing for policies that could hinder voting access and impact. Lazar had continued to defend maps in Wisconsin that were gerrymandered to lead to more Republican victories, which have since been overturned.