Meet the candidates for state Supreme Court: Susan Crawford
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- In two weeks, voters will decide whether the Wisconsin Supreme Court remains under liberal control or flips to a conservative majority with the ideological balance up for grabs this spring.
Ahead of the April 1 election, CBS 58 is profiling each candidate vying for an open seat on the state's high court.
While the race is officially nonpartisan, Dane County Judge Susan Crawford is backed by Democrats. Her opponent, Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, is the conservative candidate who previously served as the state's Republican attorney general.
The contest will be the first statewide contest in the battleground state since the 2024 election, which both parties view as a litmus test of President Donald Trump's first few months in office.
The matchup between Crawford and Schimel has received both state and national significance as it will determine whether the court maintains its 4-3 liberal majority or switches back to a conservative majority.
With several hot-button issues often decided by the court, a lot is at stake. Abortion policy, union rights, the state's voter ID requirement, and congressional maps are all issues either currently before the court or that could be heard by justices in the near future.
CBS 58 first interviewed Crawford earlier this month.
Background
Crawford began her career as a prosecutor at the Wisconsin Department of Justice. She served at the DOJ for nearly a decade before working at state agencies including corrections and the Department of Natural Resources.
Following her service, Crawford became a partner at Pines Bach law firm in Madison. As a private attorney, she represented groups including Planned Parenthood to defend abortion rights.
She also sought to overturn Act 10 as an attorney and represented clients challenging the state's voter ID requirement.
Battle of the Billionaires
The contest has surpassed the state's 2023 Supreme Court contest as the most expensive judicial campaign in U.S. history, with megadonors funneling millions to both campaigns.
Liberals won that race two years ago with Justice Janet Protasiewicz elected to the court after largely focusing her campaign on abortion rights and redistricting. It marked the first time in 15 years the ideological majority on the court favored progressives.
This year, Democrats are targeting campaign contributions linked to billionaire Elon Musk.
Groups affiliated with Musk, who's serving as an advisor to Trump and behind the controversial Department of Government Efficiency, have invested more than $10 million backing Schimel and attacking Crawford.
Crawford has been critical of Musk's involvement, claiming he's "trying to buy a seat on the court."
"[Musk] is counting on getting Brad Schimel on the court to advance Trump's agenda," she said. "That is highly partisan in my view. It is disqualifying for Brad Schimel."
In January, Musk posted on X drawing attention to the race and called on Republicans to elect Schimel. More recently, flyers have been sent to voters claiming Schimel "will support President Trump's agenda!"
Schimel has defended his supporters and has welcomed the backing of President Trump, who has not publicly endorsed in the contest. However, during a recent debate, Schimel made clear he has no "personal loyalty" to Trump or Musk.
"I'm looking for the endorsement of the Wisconsin voters," Schimel said during WISN's debate.
Crawford has pointed out Musk's involvement comes as his company Tesla filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin seeking to overturn a decision that prevents the business from opening dealerships in the state.
Schimel has said he's not seen the case that could come before the state Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, conservatives have pointed blame at high profile Democratic donors George Soros, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman for investing heavily in the race for Crawford.
Crawford downplayed the contributions when asked how the billionaires supporting her differ from Musk.
"Musk is operating as Trump's right-hand person," she said. "He's also someone who just filed a lawsuit on behalf of Tesla and is trying to get it overturned in the state Supreme Court. That really makes this very different."
Abortion
Both candidates have also indicated their views on reproductive rights as the state's high court weighs a legal battle over the 1849 near-total abortion ban.
Crawford has been outspoken about the issue. She represented Planned Parenthood in a series of lawsuits, including one vs. Schimel when he served as attorney general.
On the campaign trail, Crawford often says she "trusts women to make the right decision" about whether to have an abortion but has refrained from commenting on the current lawsuit seeking to repeal the 1849 law.
She has described the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe as "wrong."
When asked if she describes herself as pro-choice, Crawford said she doesn't "like to use that phrase."
"I believe that's become politicized and really stands for certain position with respect to government regulation of reproductive health care rights."
Crawford has also criticized her opponent, who has a record of opposing abortion. During the campaign, Schimel has told supporters he "doesn't see anything wrong" with the 19th century abortion ban.
He's also said it would be a "sham" if the court's liberal majority restores the legal right to an abortion.
In recent weeks, Schimel has shifted his stance by calling for a statewide referendum to decide abortion policy. Current law doesn't allow voters to bring forth referendums, but the idea has been floated by some Republicans in the post-Roe era.
Voter ID
When asked about the state's voter ID requirement, Crawford signaled she likes the current statute after challenging the 2011 law while working at her private practice.
"The law, as it exists today, is not the law I was in court challenging," Crawford said, noting changes the GOP-controlled Legislature made to the photo ID requirement after it was enacted.
Crawford filed a lawsuit on behalf of the League of Women Voters seeking to block the law that requires voters to present a photo ID to vote. She previously described the law as "draconian" but now says she doesn't have an opinion on the matter because it could be relitigated.
"I was a lawyer representing the interest of my client," she said. "It's just a mistake to confuse that with personal viewpoints."
After the requirement was signed into law by then-Gov. Scott Walker, a state court required lawmakers to tweak a provision that would help voters get an ID for free.
A recent Marquette Law School poll found voters overwhelmingly support the state photo ID requirement, with 77% favoring the law and 22% opposing.
On April 1, voters will be asked whether to enshrine the voter ID law in the state's constitution. If approved, it would make it harder for courts to overturn the law.
Act 10
The court is also expected to weigh in on a new challenge to Act 10, the law Gov. Walker signed ending collective bargaining rights for most public sector workers.
Before opening her private practice, Crawford led a lawsuit seeking to overturn Act 10.
During the debate, Crawford said the current legal challenge is different than what she challenged and wouldn't commit to recusing herself if the case was presented to the state's high court.
A Dane County judge ruled in December that Act 10 was unconstitutional because it exempted some public safety employees, including police and fire. That ruling is currently on hold awaiting appeal by Republicans in the Legislature.
Crawford added she has not read the current lawsuit. Schimel, while serving as attorney general, helped defend the law and has criticized the lower court ruling.
Congressional Maps
National Democrats have put Crawford forward as the liberal candidate who would help flip two Wisconsin House seats, currently held by Republicans, under new congressional maps.
But when it comes to redistricting and drawing new maps, Crawford has had little to say about the issue that could come before the court.
It comes as Republicans have accused Crawford of "selling" two House seats after participating in a Democratic donor call advertised as a "chance to put two more House seats in play for 2026.”
The Crawford campaign has rejected the accusations and said she only joined briefly to introduce herself and her candidacy.
"If there is some future challenge to the congressional maps, it's up to the lawyers in those cases to ask the court what they're looking for in terms of a remedy," Crawford said. "I don't have an opinion on that."
When asked if she believes the current maps are gerrymandered, Crawford declined to say.
Defending Criminal Sentences
In the closing weeks of the race, Crawford is also defending GOP attacks about sentences she handed out as a Dane County judge.
Two ads, funded by Musk's Super PAC, paint Crawford as "dangerous" for sentences against two men convicted on multiple first-degree child sexual assault charges.
That includes her decision regarding Kevin Welton, a child sex offender she sentenced to four years in prison after the prosecutor requested 10.
"I stand behind the sentences that I've issued," she said. "I gave that man a 10-year sentence that was divided into four years in prison, six years of extended supervision, and put him on the child sex offender registry."
Welton was convicted of first-degree sexual assault of a child and attempted sexual assault of a child in 2019. He was never recommended the maximum sentence, but prosecutors asked for 10 years in prison with five years of extended supervision.
Court documents show Crawford ordered Welton to four years in prison and six of extended supervision for each conviction but allowed them to be served simultaneously.
Big Pharma
Democrats have targeted Schimel for donations he's received from opioid manufacturers, including Purdue Pharma, but Crawford also has ties to the pharmaceutical industry as well.
She was an attorney that represented Teva Pharmaceuticals related to a price-fixing lawsuit and the state has also been involved in legal battles against the company for manipulating drug prices.
When asked if it's hypocritical to attack Schimel based on her past representation, Crawford said, "certainly not" and downplayed her involvement with Teva.
"Teva ultimately settled with the state of Wisconsin," Crawford said. "I have no idea what the terms of the settlement were, but the state was satisfied with it."
"I don't see where that creates any kind of conflict for me to criticize Brad Schimel for failing to get the state of Wisconsin into a national lawsuit when he was attorney general to hold the opioid companies accountable," she said, referring to Schimel's decision to not support a more localized approach to suing Purdue Pharma.
Schimel, at that time was working as a county district attorney, and argued a multi-state lawsuit would be more beneficial instead of many cities, towns and counties filing numerous lawsuits against Purdue Pharma.
Nearly 200 cases were eventually consolidated in federal court back in 2017.
Wisconsin did join a multi-state Purdue Pharma investigation in 2019 after Attorney General Josh Kaul narrowly defeated Schimel.