Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel faced off in the race for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. This election broke records for the most expensive state Supreme Court race in history, with over $81 million in campaign funds spent between the two candidates.
With over 95% of precincts reporting, more than 2.3 million citizens showed up to cast their ballot for the court seat. The election would determine if the court would keep its liberal majority, with key issues such as abortion rights and congressional redistricting on the line. Crawford received 55% of the vote.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk attempted to sway the election in Schimel’s favor by donating $20 million to his campaign and offering monetary incentives to individuals who registered to vote and aligned with his views. Musk paid a visit to Green Bay on March 30 to rally Wisconsin voters in support of Schimel, where he handed out two $1 million checks.
In her victory speech, Crawford said, “Today Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court … And Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price, our courts are not for sale.”
In the race for state superintendent of public instruction, liberal-backed incumbent Dr. Jill Underly won against conservative-backed challenger Brittany Kinser 52.90% to 47.10%. Underly plans to continue fighting for public education and library funding, student mental health support and prioritized student health and healthy meals.
Wisconsin voters saw a referendum at the bottom of their ballots to add a voter identification requirement in the state Constitution. While Wisconsin law already states that photo ID is required to vote, adding it to the constitution would make it more difficult to change in the future. The referendum passed with 62.8% of voters marking “yes” on their ballots.
With Judge Ramona Gonzalez retiring, the seat for Branch 1 of the La Crosse County Circuit Court was up for election. Joseph Veenstra won against Eric Sanford in a tight race.
Come April 15, Shaundel Washington-Spivey will be taking over for Mayor Mitch Reynolds as the new mayor of La Crosse until 2029. He beat competitor Chris Kahlow by 451 votes and made La Crosse history as the first-ever black mayor and the first mayor to openly be a part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Washington-Spivey is the co-founder and executive director of Black Leaders Acquiring Collective Knowledge (BLACK), is a member of Governor Tony Evers’ Advisory Council on Equity and Inclusion and has stated his intentions to create a more equitable community.
To read more about Mayor-elect Washington-Spivey, click here.
The following individuals were elected as La Crosse city council members: Olivia Stine, District 5; Gary Padesky, District 7; Mackenzie Mindel, District 8; Aron Newberry, District 9; Jennifer Trost, District 10; Crystal Bedford, District 12; Lisa Weston, District 13; and Rosanne Northwood, District 13.
District 5, which the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse falls into, was previously left vacant and was included as a special election.
The La Crosse School Board race yielded Jeff Jackson, Meredith Garcia and Molly Fuchs as the newest members over Joy Buchman, Adam Hoffer and Kevin Hundt.
