Liberals just won a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court by a huge margin

[Julian Englis]

Source: Vox

Liberal candidate Rebecca Dallet has won election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, according to Decision Desk. Dallet defeated her conservative opponent for the open seat, Michael Screnock easily, and her victory will cut the conservative majority on the court from 5-2 to just 4-3.

Dallets win is yet another example of liberal voter enthusiasm in state and local elections held during the age of Trump. And in Wisconsin specifically, its a rare victory for a Democratic Party thats been beaten again and again in recent years. (The race was technically nonpartisan, but Dallet was the Democrat-backed candidate, and Screnock the conservative-backed one.)

However, the court will remain in conservative hands for the near future. The next conservative-held seat wont be up for election until 2020, and before that, liberals will have to defend one of their own seats next year.

Once elected, Wisconsin Supreme Court justices serve out 10-year terms. However, if a seat should become vacant in the middle of a term, the governor can appoint a replacement justice. A new election is then scheduled for that seat in the first year when theres no other supreme court election on the ballot (that is, two seats cant go up for election in the same year). Tuesdays election is for an open seat held by a conservative justice who chose to retire.

Read more: https://www.vox.com/2018/4/3/17195062/wisconsin-supreme-court-election-results

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Live updates:
https://decisiondeskhq.com/news/wisconsin-supreme-court-election/

Here's the start of Madison.com's story Rebecca Dallet wins 10-year term on Wisconsin Supreme Court

Voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly picked Milwaukee County Judge Rebecca Dallet to serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court for the next 10 years.

Dallet crushed Sauk County Judge Michael Screnock 57 percent to 42 percent and is the first candidate backed by liberals to win an open seat on the state's highest court since 1995.

She replaces Justice Michael Gableman, whose decision in 2015 to not step away from a case involving the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, which had spent millions to help elect Gableman, was a big reason Dallet decided to seek a seat on the court.

Dallet, a judge for the last 10 years, campaigned largely on changing the rules that govern when judges and Supreme Court justices should recuse themselves from cases involving top campaign donors and repeatedly criticized Gableman and the court controlled by conservatives for "doing bidding" for special interests.

With Dallet's election, the court remains controlled by conservative justices but by a smaller margin.