The Wisconsin Supreme Court race goes national
Crawford also questioned how Schimel can be an impartial justice after he declared he would be a “support network” for President Trump and accused federal judges of “acting corruptly” for issuing temporary restraining orders against many of Trump’s executive orders.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court race is garnering national attention as Elon Musk invests millions on behalf of Republican candidate Brad Schimel. Groups funded by Musk are by far the highest spenders, coming in at about $5.2 million so far.
Candidate Brad Schimel, currently a Wisconsin Circuit Court judge, is a career Republican politician who served as a county district attorney and then the Republican Attorney General of Wisconsin. As AG, he argued for the 1848 abortion ban and also to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
In 2017, after public pressure, Schimel began testing a huge backlog of rape test kits. At the time only nine of more than 6,000 rape kits had been tested. Though he argued that there were limited resources to process the kits, this turned out not to be the case. During that same time span, Schimel’s office spent $10,000 on commemorative coins engraved with his name.
Schimel’s opponent, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford, has called him out for his remarks questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 election. Schimel said Trump “screwed up” by not overturning the results. She also questioned how he can be an impartial justice after he declared he would be a “support network” for President Trump and accused federal judges of “acting corruptly” for issuing temporary restraining orders against many of Trump’s executive orders.
Crawford has served in various assistant attorney general positions and was elected to several nonpartisan judgeships. She was chief legal counsel for Governor Jim Doyle. As a litigator, Crawford’s clients included the League of Women Voters, the state Superintendent Tony Evers, and the Madison teachers' union. Crawford calls herself a no-nonsense judge dedicated to impartial justice.
“As a former prosecutor and a judge, I know we need Supreme Court justices who understand what it takes to keep communities safe, who are impartial and fair, who will use common sense, and who won’t politicize the Constitution to undermine our most basic rights,” she said.
She insists that she has the right temperament for the job and will not politicize her position if elected.
Another stark contrast between the two is their views of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the nation’s Capitol. While Schimel has seemed to suggest that some of those involved were victims of partisan judges – a point of view that legal minds have called striking in a person seeking to sit on a state supreme court – Crawford called Trump’s blanket pardons “completely inappropriate.”
A debate between Crawford and Schimel is scheduled for March 12. Absentee ballots will be mailed out on March 11. Early in-person voting starts on March 18. The election is on April 1. Questions? Check myvote.wi.gov.
