Abortion, ‘Soft on Crime’: The issues defining the State Supreme Court race
MADISON Wis. (CBS 58) -- The issue of abortion is taking center stage in the state Supreme Court race, but the candidates are taking different approaches to addressing the overturning of Roe v. Wade while the issue of crime is also re-emerging.
Pro-choice and anti-abortion groups are pledging to invest heavily in the matchup between liberal candidate Janet Protasiewicz and Dan Kelly, who's backed by Republicans, but the main difference is Protasiewicz has been up front in showing her support for reproductive rights while Kelly has been less vocal on the issue.
"It would be one thing if the candidates didn't say a thing about abortion," said UW-La Crosse Political Science Professor Anthony Chergosky. "It's quite another when one of the candidates like Janet Protasiewicz talks in blunt terms on her position on abortion and speaks very openly about her support for women to make their own choices."
It's a political strategy that is straight out of the Democratic playbook which helped galvanize their base and swing voters during the 2022 midterms, Chergosky said.
Throughout his campaign, Kelly has rarely talked about abortion even though he's secured endorsements from state and national anti-abortion groups, including Pro-Life Wisconsin.
The former state Supreme Court Justice, who was appointed to court by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker in 2016 before losing his seat in 2020 to liberal Jill Karofsky, did express opposition to abortion in a 2012 blog post where he called the Democratic Party "a major women’s organization" that often supports a "policy deadly to children."
Chergosky said during this political environment it will be a difficult issue for Kelly to overcome, just as it was for some Republican candidates on the 2022 ballot.
"They would avoid the issue whenever possible. That was not a strong strategy. The voters wanted to know where the candidates stood on abortion," Chergosky said.
David Canon, UW-Madison political science professor, believes Kelly won't broadcast his support for the pro-life movement on the campaign trail because of statewide polling that found about two-thirds of voters believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to Marquette University Law School.
"I don't think [the Kelly campaign] will hit abortion very hard," Canon said. "I think it will be more of a law-and-order position."
Kelly and his GOP allies are embracing the tough on crime theme, as well as accusing Protasiewicz for pledging how she'd rule of cases that may come before the high court such as the 1849 near-total abortion ban in Wisconsin.
Neither candidate has said how they would rule directly on that case, but it's expected justices on the will weigh in eventually on Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul's challenge seeking to repeal the 174-year-old law, which makes it illegal for doctors to perform abortions unless a mother's life is in danger. The lawsuit is currently pending in the lower courts.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party of Wisconsin is trying to focus the race around Protasiewicz's record while serving as a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge. This week they launched a website titled "No Jail Janet" attacking and accusing her of being "soft on crime" for handing out light sentences to violent criminals.
"That is definitely going to be the theme I think we're going to see from conservative outside groups especially going after the law-and-order angle," Canon said.
In an interview with CBS 58, Protasiewicz brushed aside those attacks and her campaign has dismissed them as "political stunts."
The question now is which candidate's message will resonate more with voters come April 4.