MENOMONIE (WQOW) – The Wisconsin Supreme Court election is April 4, with one seat up for grabs. A local political expert said it’s not usually a contentious race, but this year, the overturn of Roe v. Wade has put it on the map.
Though it’s typically a nonpartisan election there are two conservative and two liberal candidates in the primary. In April, that will be down to two candidates in total.
Pro-choice activists took to the streets in Madison on January 22, saying the election gives them hope that Wisconsin’s pre-Civil War law banning abortion could be changed or repealed if a progressive candidate is elected.
Those against abortion hope a conservative candidate could cement the ban if it is brought into question.
That’s because Attorney General Josh Kaul recently filed a lawsuit claiming the 1849 ban is nullified by laws passed in the state since then.
“It’s interpreting state law in front of a judge on a very emotional issue,” said Rich Postlewaite, a social science professor at UW-Stout.
Postlewaite said another progressive candidate on the Court, which currently has a 4-3 conservative majority, would help get that lawsuit to the governor.
He said spring elections typically have a very low turnout, but with abortion on the ballot, more voters may be mobilized this April.
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