Democrats Score Critical Election Victory In Battleground State

Wisconsin Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor defeated Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar to expand the liberal majority on the state’s supreme court.

Liberals will now hold a 5-2 majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Taylor is a former democratic state representative who will succeed a retiring conservative justice.

Decision Desk HQ projects Chris Taylor wins the Wisconsin State Supreme Court #DecisionMade: 9:26 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/ZHDYh3lAVr

— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) April 8, 2026

Fox News has more:

While officially a non-partisan contest, state Supreme Court elections in Wisconsin have become extremely partisan in recent election cycles.

With the court’s majority on the line in last year’s contest, outside money poured in and out-of-state door knockers blanketed Wisconsin. One of the biggest spenders was Trump ally Elon Musk, who headlined a rally days before the election and donned a cheesehead hat worn by fans of the Green Bay Packers. Musk also personally handed out $1 million checks to voters.

The liberal candidate won that election by a larger-than-expected margin to capture a 4-3 majority on the state Supreme Court.

Since the majority wasn’t at stake in this year’s showdown, the campaign battle wasn’t showered with national resources, money, or attention.

Liberals took control of the state Supreme Court in 2023, ending a decade and a half of conservative control. Since taking the majority, the liberals have reversed several election-related rulings by the prior conservative majority, including one that banned absentee ballot drop boxes.

“Her victory Tuesday grows the liberal majority on the court as cases affecting congressional redistricting, union rights and other hot button issues await,” the Associated Press noted.

Democratic-backed candidate Chris Taylor has won election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Her victory Tuesday grows the liberal majority on the court as cases affecting congressional redistricting, union rights and other hot button issues await. https://t.co/diAJidl0x1

— The Associated Press (@AP) April 8, 2026

The victory gave liberals their largest majority on the state’s supreme court in decades.

Liberal Justice Chris Taylor defeats conservative Justice Maria Lazar in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race – VoteHub

🟥 Conservative → 🟦 Liberal FLIP

Liberals expand their majority to 5-2 — their largest since at least the 1970s. pic.twitter.com/JMYAvzHe1n

— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) April 8, 2026

NBC News shared further:

Liberal candidates have won four straight Wisconsin Supreme Court elections, as well as five of the last six. And dating to 2017, Democratic and Democratic-aligned candidates have won 19 of the last 24 statewide races in Wisconsin.

Taylor, who was backed by the state Democratic Party, held massive fundraising and ad spending advantages over Lazar throughout the race. She had put abortion and voting rights at the forefront of her campaign, much like other winning liberal Supreme Court candidates in the state in recent years. Taylor, a former policy director for the state’s Planned Parenthood group. also leaned into messaging that targeted President Donald Trump, which has helped turn out Democratic voters in non-presidential elections in Wisconsin and nationally.

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