Wisconsinites voted April 1 to elect Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford for state Supreme Court justice, with Crawford receiving 55% of the vote and conservative opponent Brad Schimel receiving 45%.
The court is expected to weigh in on various high-stake issues related to abortion rights, labor and redistricting in the coming years as Crawford begins her 10-year term, according to University of Wisconsin-Whitewater associate professor of politics, government and law Eric Loepp.
“One issue will be the 1849 abortion bill,” Loepp said. “There’s a couple of court cases related to that … and those will almost certainly work their way through the system the next few cycles.”
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit in 2022 challenging the 1849 bill, and it is still pending in court along with another similar lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood in 2024.
Additionally, Loepp said the court may hear cases related to the constitutionality of Act 10 — a 2011 bill that dictates collective bargaining rights and fringe benefits for public employees. A Dane County judge ruled in December 2024 that certain sections of Act 10 were unconstitutional because they treat some public safety employees differently than others.
Lastly, Loepp said the court could hear arguments debating the constitutionality of congressional district maps. Though Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed new legislative maps into law in 2024, there is still discussion surrounding the congressional district maps, with national politicians like Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., saying the maps are gerrymandered to benefit Republicans.
Wisconsin currently has six Republican and two Democratic U.S. representatives. Proponents of redistricting argue there should be a more even split between the two parties in Congress, four Republican representatives and four Democrats, for example, to reflect the narrowly divided swing state that Wisconsin is, Loepp said.
Wisconsin has flipped between red and blue in recent years with the state electing Republican President Donald Trump while also electing Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., in the same 2024 election — though these changes do not necessarily mean voters themselves are flipping sides, Loepp said.
“Wisconsin flipped red,” Loepp said. “Now it slipped blue, and now it flipped red again. And it’s easy to look at the map of the U.S. and see Wisconsin changing colors, and it feels like the people in Wisconsin are changing their minds.”
Instead, Wisconsin’s swings between Democratic and Republican candidates likely reflect which party turns out more voters, Loepp said.
In fact, election results for the 2023 state Supreme Court race, 2024 presidential race and 2025 state Supreme Court race show most counties staying either blue or red throughout these elections despite different Republican or Democratic candidates winning statewide.
Voter turnout in 2025 increased from the 2023 supreme court race in every county, and this could be due to a variety of factors, Loepp said.
For one, Crawford’s was a high stakes election that decided the 4-3 liberal balance of the court, Loepp said. If the court had had six liberal justices and one conservative, this election would not have been as consequential in deciding the political ideology of the court, he said.
Moreover, it is common that once a new president takes office, the president’s opposing party will have more motivation to vote and win the next round of elections, Loepp said.
In 2025, Democrats were extremely motivated to turnout, and in particular, Crawford outperformed former Vice President Kamala Harris in Milwaukee County — a significant statistic given how many voters there are in this area, Loepp said in a follow-up email.
Loepp added that Democratic voters were likely motivated against billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk who backed Schimel’s campaign and drew more attention to the current presidential administration.
Communications director for Crawford’s campaign Derrick Honeyman said Crawford’s victory proved voters were opposed to Musk and his funding toward advertisements that were expected to have benefited Schimel’s campaign.
“I think it’s very clear on April 1 that Wisconsinites didn’t want an unelected billionaire like Musk to have unchecked power over the Wisconsin Supreme Court,” Honeyman said. “Elon Musk wanted a person on the Supreme Court who would really do his bidding.”
Honeyman said in turn, voters likely saw Crawford as a candidate who will fight to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of Wisconsinites.
Contributions from Musk and other wealthy donors made this the most expensive supreme court election in U.S. history, and these donors funded ads that drew attention to the race regardless of which candidate the ads benefited, Loepp said.
“Even if you take out the ‘who you are voting for’ part of it — just the fact that we have so much money and so many ads running, it’s a good reminder to voters that ‘oh, hey, there’s an important race going on this year,’” Loepp said.
Due to Crawford’s success, Democrats are likely optimistic going into the 2026 midterm elections where voters will decide the makeup of the Wisconsin State Assembly and Senate — which currently both hold a Republican majority, Loepp said. Especially since, as previously mentioned, Trump’s Republican Party being in office now will give Democrats an advantage in 2026, Loepp said.
Some experts believe Democrats could claim the majority in both the Assembly and Senate, but Loepp said it is unclear whether or not this will happen — though the Senate would likely be easier for Democrats to win.
“But don’t forget, Donald Trump has also won the state two out of the last three presidential elections,” Loepp said. “So people who are involved in politics left, right or center will still need to put the work in and spend a lot of time making their case. Still though, the playing field looks like one that should be beneficial to Democrats come 2026.”
Crawford is scheduled to begin her 10-year term as a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Aug. 1.
