Ad blitz underway in high stakes Wisconsin Supreme Court race, on track to be most expensive
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- With control of the state Supreme Court up for grabs this spring, voters should brace themselves for a flurry of campaign ads that will begin this week.
The April 1 matchup between Dane County Judge Susan Crawford and Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, the former Republican attorney general, will be another high stakes and expensive election that is on track to break records for the most expensive judicial contest in U.S. history.
The Schimel campaign placed a $1 million ad buy that will begin airing spots Tuesday in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, La Crosse, and Wausau, according to the campaign.
It marks the first significant investment in the race. The statewide ad comes after the campaign reported raising $2.2 million in individual donations since Schimel launched his bid in November 2023.
"In the past six months alone, the campaign raised $1.5 million – more than five times the amount of the previous conservative candidate during this period," said Jacob Fischer, a spokesman for Schimel.
Crawford maintains a slight edge with $2.8 million raised by donors since May, the campaign said. She recently campaigned in Green Bay over the weekend.
"I've spent my entire career working to protect the rights of ordinary Wisconsinites under our laws and under our constitution," Crawford said. "I think people want to have common sense and have justices on our court that will be fair and impartial."
The fundraising totals so far surpass what was raised during this same timeframe for Wisconsin's 2023 Supreme Court contest. More than $50 million was spent by the candidates - liberal Janet Protasiewicz and former conservative Justice Dan Kelly - along with special interest groups, making it the most expensive Supreme Court race in modern history.
Schimel and Crawford are running to replace liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who won't seek another 10-year term.
Crawford is hoping to maintain the court's 4-3 liberal majority, while Schimel wants conservatives to win it back after liberals regained control for the first time in 15 years following Protasiewicz's victory in 2023.
The race was solidified last week after both candidates were the only ones to turn in paperwork to appear on the April ballot. That means no competitive primary in February.
Anthony Chergosky, an assistant professor of political science at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, said without a primary, both candidates will have more time to define themselves and one another in attack ads.
"I fully expect that we're going to see negative campaigning ramping up soon, because it's only a two-person campaign," said Chergosky.
During this time in 2023, there were two liberals and two conservatives competing in the February primary.
Both Crawford and Schimel's campaigns have suggested massive amounts of money will be invested in the race.
"In a very close election, money can make the difference," Chergosky said.
Unlike Kelly, Schimel plans to take contributions from the Republican Party of Wisconsin. Crawford is also expected to have a big fundraising boost from the state Democratic Party, who spent $10 million on Protasiewicz two years ago.
Issues such as abortion, voting and union rights are expected to shape the race. It comes as liberals have recently struck down GOP-drawn voting maps, reinstated absentee drop boxes, begun arguments on the state's 1849 criminal abortion ban, and Gov. Tony Evers' veto pen authority.
Act 10, the controversial law that took away collective bargaining for most public workers, is another issue the court could consider after a lower court recently struck down the 2011 law.