2026 Wisconsin Supreme Court election
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| Elections in Wisconsin |
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The 2026 Wisconsin Supreme Court election will be held on April 7, 2026, to elect a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a ten-year term. The incumbent justice, Rebecca Bradley, has announced that she will run for re-election. Bradley has served on the court since 2015, she was initially appointed by Governor Scott Walker and was elected to her first ten-year term in 2016. Bradley is associated with the conservative minority on the court, and therefore the 2026 election is not expected to affect the ideological majority of the court, though a liberal victory would result in the court having a 5–2 liberal majority instead of its current 4-3 liberal majority.
If more than two candidates file for this seat, a nonpartisan primary election will be held on February 17, 2026, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the April 7 general election. The filing deadline to appear on the ballot in the 2026 election is January 1, 2026.
Background
It has been historically rare for an incumbent to lose a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat, with this only having occurred eight times (1855, 1908, 1917, 1947, 1958, 1967, 2008, and 2020). Additionally, only three of those defeats (1855, 1917, and 1967) were defeats of a previously-elected incumbent like Bradley (the other four defeats were of appointed incumbents); and 1855 and 1917 are the only times incumbent justices were defeated after having previously won a contested election (the incumbent defeated in 1967 had been uncontested in their previous election).[1]
Candidates
Incumbent justice Rebecca Bradley has announced that she intends to seek re-election. This will make her the first incumbent justice to seek re-election since 2020, and the first previously-elected incumbent to seek re-election since 2017. If she is opposed on the ballot, 2026 will be the first election since 2015 in which a previously-elected incumbent has faced a challenger for re-election.
Declared
- Rebecca Bradley,[a] incumbent Supreme Court justice (2015–present)[2]
- Chris Taylor,[b] Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge (2023–present) and former state representative (2011–2019)[4]
Declined
- Lyndsey Boon Brunette, Clark County circuit judge and former Clark County district attorney (2012–2016)[5]
- Pedro Colón,[c] Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge (2023–present) and former state representative (1999–2011)[7] (endorsed Taylor)[8]
- Sara Geenen,[d] Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge (2023–present)[2] (endorsed Taylor)[8]
- Rachel Graham,[d] Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge (2019–present) (endorsed Taylor)[8]
Endorsements
- U.S. senators
- Tammy Baldwin, U.S. senator from Wisconsin (2013–present)[9]
- Judicial officials
- Susan Crawford, Wisconsin Supreme Court justice-elect (2025–present)[10]
- Rebecca Dallet, Wisconsin Supreme Court justice (2018–present)[10]
- Jill Karofsky, Wisconsin Supreme Court justice (2020–present)[10]
- Janet Protasiewicz, Wisconsin Supreme Court justice (2023–present)[10]
See also
Notes
References
- ^ Multiple sources:
- Ostermeier, Eric (April 11, 2011). "The Incumbency Advantage in Wisconsin Supreme Court Elections". Smart Politics. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- Johnson, Shawn (April 14, 2020). "Jill Karofsky Wins Wisconsin Supreme Court Race, Defeating Conservative Incumbent". WPR. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley planning to seek reelection in 2026". WisPolitics. April 4, 2025. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ Beck, Molly (April 5, 2025). "Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley announces she'll seek another 10-year term". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on April 5, 2025.
- ^ Bauer, Scott (May 20, 2025). "Judge who previously fought for abortion rights wants to join Wisconsin Supreme Court". Associated Press. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
- ^ "Clark County judge tells WisPolitics she's passing on Supreme Court bid in '26". WisPolitics. May 2, 2025. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
- ^ "THU PM Update: Three liberals looking at run for Supreme Court following Bradley retirement". Wispolitics.com. April 11, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ Nir, David; Singer, Jeff (April 17, 2025). "Morning Digest: New challenger to 12-term Democrat calls on 'next generation to step up'". The Downballot. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Taylor campaign: 100 current and former judges endorse Judge Chris Taylor for Wisconsin Supreme Court". WisPolitics. June 26, 2025. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
- ^ Hunt, Lucas (July 8, 2025). "Senator Tammy Baldwin endorses Judge Chris Taylor's 2026 state Supreme Court bid". Civic Media. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Taylor campaign: Announces endorsements from Justices Rebecca Dallet, Jill Karofsky, Janet Protasiewicz and Justice-elect Susan Crawford". WisPolitics (Press release). May 21, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
External links
- Official campaign websites