The two candidates vying for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court are in a near dead heat in fundraising, according to the candidates' campaign spending reports.

Madison attorney Linda Clifford reported raising $266,320 to the State Elections Board Jan. 31, slightly ahead of the $245,176 Washington County Circuit Court judge Annette Ziegler raised.

Both candidates personally loaned $150,000 to their campaigns.

The nonpartisan race's third candidate, Oregon lawyer Joseph Sommers, has not yet submitted a report.

Experts predict the election will be hotly contested, since the candidates are vying for the seat of retiring Justice Jon Wilcox — a traditionally conservative member of the balanced seven-member court.

"I don't have an agenda for changing the court," Clifford said, "except for my commitment to justice."

Even though state statues purport the seat to be nonpartisan, media have largely billed the competition as Republican versus Democrat based on the candidates' respective campaign donors.

University of Wisconsin political science professor Herbert Kritzer acknowledged "partisan linkages" in the race and said the strength of partisan support could play a large role.

Another factor, according to Kritzer, could be "whether or not anyone is paying attention to the race."

"With Madison, there is a mayoral campaign to bring voters out, … [but] people don't come to the polls to vote for the [state] Supreme Court," Kritzer said.

The partisan aspect of the race, Kritzer said, is often over-hyped, adding that a "clear majority" of cases are decided unanimously.

A change in the political composition of the court, Kritzer added, would make a difference only in a "very small subset" of cases.

While the three candidates have stressed their commitment to justice, each has also expressed different reasons for seeking a seat on the state's highest court.

Clifford said it is important to have various perspectives on the court. The perspective she offers with 32 years of experience as an attorney is one missing from the current court, she said.

According to Sommers, he is running for the seat because the "integrity of the Wisconsin courts is in jeopardy." Attorneys do not go to trial often because they have a financial incentive not to go to trial, he added.

"Judges right now don't believe they'll ever get in trouble if they play with the record," Sommers said.

The court also has an obligation to inform the public, Sommers said, noting that few citizens know Wisconsin has the nation's highest rate of incarcerating blacks and Latinos, and that Dane county has the highest racial disparity in the entire country.

Ziegler is the only sitting judge of the three candidates. According to office spokesperson Marci Van Adestine, Ziegler "has the best qualifications" to be a state Supreme Court justice.

Van Adestine noted that Ziegler has served as both an attorney and a judge, among other roles, and has the necessary "multidimensional experience."