The April 1 election is right around the corner for Wisconsin voters. On the ballot will be a high-profile state Supreme Court race and other candidates who have advanced past the primaries on Feb. 18. In La Crosse this means the race for mayor, between Chris Kahlow and Shaundel Washington-Spivey, as well as multiple La Crosse County circuit court judge positions and a seat on the La Crosse School District Board of Education.
Statewide, Wisconsinites will see candidates for the state superintendent of public instruction and for state Supreme Court.
Dane County Judge Susan Crawford and Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel are the candidates vying for the Supreme Court seat soon to be left vacant by retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley.
Judge Crawford entered the Supreme Court race in June 2024. Judge Schimel launched his campaign early, announcing his run in November 2023.
If Crawford wins, the Court would keep its liberal majority, as Justice Bradley is not seeking reelection. If Schimel wins the Court will switch to a conservative majority.
The Supreme Court is the top court in the state, the seven justices that serve on the Court are elected to a 10-year terms. Supreme Court races are officially nonpartisan, as the Court takes cases that raise a statewide issue. These cases can be any form of legal issue. This term the Court is expected to rule in cases affecting unions rights, congressional redistricting, election laws and, what remains a defining controversy in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, abortion rights.
Crawford spoke with The Racquet Press to discuss how she has shaped her commitment to fair and impartial judicial decision-making and warns against her opponent’s partisanship influence.
Schimel’s campaign did not reply to multiple interview requests.
Before becoming a judge, Crawford was an attorney in private practice at Madison law firm, Pine Bach. According to her campaign website, she often took cases where she “protected voting and workers’ rights, and represented Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin to defend access to reproductive health care.”
“So I’ve had that experience of standing up in the courtroom and and fighting for the ability of those doctors and women to do what’s best for women, to make their own decisions about how to proceed with pregnancies,” Crawford told The Racquet Press.
In the 2022 case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. This gave the power to the states to regulate abortion.
Before Roe was overturned, Schimel supported a 1849 abortion ban in Wisconsin without expectations for rape or incest.
Schimel cites his experience adopting his two children to explain why he doesn’t agree with abortion, but recently Schimel has changed his tone, saying in an ad he will respect the “will of the people.”
While the race is officially nonpartisan, justices on the state Supreme Court typically lean liberal or conservative. Both candidates have attacked the other for not remaining nonpartisan in the race and breaking judicial conduct rules.
“Unlike my opponent, I am not announcing my positions on any cases… The Judicial Code of Wisconsin tells judges not to do that because it is prejudicial to the parties. Brad Schimel has done that over and over,” said Crawford
In an interview on UPFRONT with WISN 12 News, Schimel explained one of the reasons he entered the race was because he perceived a problem with judicial conduct rules not being followed.
“In 2023 I watched a candidate promising how they were going to rule on the cases. Thats breaking the rules,” Schimel said.
Schimel is referring to Janet Protasiewicz, the 2023 candidate and now Justice. He disagrees with her campaign style of making “open promises on the campaign trail.” During her campaign, Protasiewicz stated that she personally believes in a woman’s right to access abortion but emphasized that her personal beliefs would not impact how she would rule on legal issues related to abortion cases.
The 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court race was also a major race in the battleground state. Two years ago it broke national spending records for a judicial race, with a $51 million price tag. Justice Protasiewicz accepted an endorsement and funding from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, which contributed to $10 million into her campaign.
This year’s race is on track to be even more expensive.
Since the start of the race, Crawford’s campaign has raised over $7.3 million, $3 million of which was donated by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
Of the $7.3 million, Democratic megadonors like Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and George Soros have donated nearly $2 million combined in support of Crawford.
Crawford told The Racquet Press her approach to accepting donations.
“I tell anyone who is interested in my candidacy I don’t make promises, I don’t say how I would decide any case or any issue that is before the Supreme Court… I am running to be a fair and impartial justice,” said Crawford.
Schimel’s campaign has seen $1.7 million in funding from the Republican Party of Wisconsin. Elon Musk’s political action committee (PAC), America PAC, funneled $1 million on increasing voter turnout for Schimel, according to state election records. A group funded by Musk has spent more than $2 million on TV ads attacking Crawford.
In reference to donations in support of Schimel from Musk, Crawford told The Racquet Press, “The organizations funded by Elon Musk are coming into the state, pouring millions of dollars into attack ads against me and they are doing that to try to buy a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, to advance Elon Musk’s agenda.”
Musk has also endorsed Schimel, posting on his social media site, X, that it is “very important to vote Republican for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to prevent voting fraud!”
Schimel said in an UPFRONT interview on Feb. 9, he has never met or spoken to Musk, but is “welcoming anybody that can help me get the word out about this race.”
“This race is about the future of the rights and freedoms of every Wisconsinite and we need to make sure our Supreme Court is not taken over by an extreme agenda and that our Court is working for the people of Wisconsin and not for Elon Musk,” said Crawford.
Crawford and Schimel have agreed to an hour-long live debate at the Lubar Center at Marquette University Law School’s Eckstein Hall on March 12.
The winner of the April 1 election will serve a 10-year term on the court and will likely influence its direction until conservative Justices Rebecca Bradley and Chief Justice Annette Ziegler face reelection in 2026 and 2027.
In La Crosse early voting for the April 1, 2025, Spring Election is available both in-person and by mail.
In-Person Absentee Voting:
You can vote early in person at the La Crosse City Clerk’s Office starting March 18.
Absentee Voting by Mail:
To vote absentee by mail, you must request a ballot from the City Clerk’s Office. Requests can be made online through the MyVote website, by mail or in person at the Clerk’s Office. The deadline to register to vote by mail is March 12, 2025.
