Liberal Judge Chris Taylor defeated conservative Judge Maria Lazar for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, expanding liberals’ majority on the state’s high court to 5-2. 

Taylor and Lazar both serve on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. Taylor, a former Democratic state assemblymember, previously worked as an attorney and policy director for Planned Parenthood Wisconsin. Lazar served as an assistant attorney general and circuit court judge in Waukesha, Wisconsin, following a 20-year career in private practice.

“Tonight, the people of Wisconsin spoke,” Taylor said in a statement. “What they said is clear — we are moving forward, for our rights, for our democracy, for every family in this state that deserves a fair shot at justice. Tonight we stand strongly for a state Supreme Court that prioritizes the people of Wisconsin, their rights, their lives, and the independence of our great state.”

State Supreme Court elections in Wisconsin are technically nonpartisan but have become heavily politicized in recent years. Conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley’s retirement opened up another seat with a 10-year term on the high court.  

The past two state Supreme Court elections in Wisconsin, both won by liberals, have drawn record levels of spending and national attention due to the state’s status as a perennial battleground. During President Donald Trump’s presidency, Democratic voters have been more likely to turn out in off-cycle and special elections like these. 

The judges’ records, including on abortion, were major issues in the race. Abortion access in Wisconsin had been in flux after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022 due to a 1849 abortion ban that remained on the books. Last year, the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the 1849 law, making a ban on most abortions after 20 weeks that state lawmakers passed in 2015 the law of the land.  

Taylor emphasized her support for abortion rights and her past advocacy for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence in her campaign ads. Lazar has said that she would uphold the state’s 20-week ban, which she described as a “compromise,” in her ads. Some of Lazar’s attack ads against Taylor also mentioned noncitizen voting, voter ID laws and transgender girls in women’s sports, top issues for conservatives and Republicans nationally. 

In 2023, Justice Janet Protasiewicz’s win flipped control of the court from conservative to liberal-dominated. And in 2025, liberal Justice Susan Crawford defeated conservative Brad Schimel to maintain liberals’ 4-3 majority. Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, poured tens of millions of dollars into the race supporting Schimel as he was reshaping the federal government through his so-called Department of Government Efficiency. But his efforts fell short, as Crawford won by nearly 10 points. 

Taylor’s more than 20-point win, a blowout landslide by Wisconsin standards, far exceeded the margins of liberal justices who won Supreme Court races in recent years as she flipped a dozen counties that voted for Schimel. Democrats also notched some down-ballot wins, including a victory for Alicia Halvensleben, a Democrat, in the mayoral election in Waukesha, a longtime Republican stronghold. 

In this year’s state Supreme Court contest, Taylor outraised and outspent Lazar, according to a campaign spending tracker from the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice. Her campaign spent nearly $3 million compared with just over $330,000 from Lazar’s campaign. 

Three outside groups, A Better Wisconsin Together, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Judicial Action Network, also spent over $300,000 in the race backing Taylor’s candidacy.