Chris Taylor, a liberal Wisconsin judge and former Democratic state representative, won a ten-year term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday, defeating conservative appeals court judge Maria Lazar and expanding the court's liberal majority to 5-2. The victory ensures progressive control of the state's highest court through at least 2030, assuming all justices complete their terms.
Taylor, currently a state appellate judge, joins a court that has already delivered significant victories for voting rights, reproductive freedom, and public education funding. The win continues a remarkable streak of liberal judicial victories in Wisconsin, where conservative candidates have not prevailed in a Supreme Court race since a narrow 6,000-vote win in 2019.
A String of Progressive Victories
Since that 2019 contest, liberal judges Jill Karofsky, Janet Protasiewicz, Susan Crawford, and now Taylor have won decisive victories as Wisconsin's spring electorate has trended firmly to the left. The pattern suggests voters are increasingly using judicial elections to protect rights and democratic institutions from partisan manipulation.
The result came amid a string of special election victories for Democrats that Politico said suggests a difficult political environment for the GOP heading into November's midterms. While this year's race attracted far less attention than last year's contest—when Crawford beat her conservative opponent by over 10 points despite Republican megadonor Elon Musk, described as the world's richest man, pouring millions into an effort to defeat her and arguing the fate of "Western civilization" was at stake—the outcome reinforces the court's progressive direction.
Landmark Rulings on Rights and Democracy
The court's liberal majority has already delivered transformative rulings that address structural inequities and protect fundamental rights. In 2023, the court ordered new legislative maps in Wisconsin, effectively ending a GOP gerrymander that had lasted for over a decade and denied fair representation to millions of voters. The ruling restored democratic accountability to a system that had allowed one party to maintain legislative control despite losing statewide votes.
Last July, the panel overturned Wisconsin's 176-year-old abortion ban by a 4-3 majority, restoring reproductive healthcare access that had been stripped away following the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade. The court also ruled last year that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers could use his veto pen to lock in a 400-year increase in funding for schools, securing critical resources for public education.
Looking Ahead to November
While the spring judicial victories demonstrate clear progressive momentum, Politico said neither party expects the fall governor's race to follow the same exact path as the spring Supreme Court campaign, with November elections in the battleground state routinely decided by slim margins. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes are the top Democrats running for the right to face Trump-endorsed Rep. Tom Tiffany for governor in November.
Why This Matters:
Taylor's victory secures a progressive majority on Wisconsin's Supreme Court through the end of the decade, ensuring continued protection for voting rights, reproductive freedom, and public education funding. The court's recent decisions have dismantled a decade-long gerrymander that denied fair representation, restored abortion access, and locked in historic school funding increases—all addressing structural inequities that had disadvantaged working families and communities of color. With the liberal majority now at 5-2, Wisconsin voters have used judicial elections to create institutional safeguards for democratic participation and individual rights at a time when both face threats nationwide. The result also signals broader challenges for Republicans in a state that remains crucial to national politics, as voters increasingly reject efforts to restrict rights through the courts.