General election was held April 4
See unofficial results here.
Primary was held Feb. 21
State Supreme Court
Janet Protasiewicz cruised to victory over conservative Daniel Kelly in Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court race — easily the most expensive in the nation’s history — giving liberals a 4-3 majority for the first time in 15 years. Her victory likely improves the chances a challenge to the state’s 1849 abortion ban could succeed and opens the door to a new challenge to the legislative lines.
With 99 percent of the vote in, the Milwaukee County judge was at 1,021,374 votes, or 55.5 percent, while conservative Daniel Kelly was at 818,286 votes, or 44.5 percent.
See WisPolitics election night coverage here.
See coverage and video of a WisPolitics.com forum with the candidates here.
See recent ads at Ad Watch.
Candidates
Janet Protasiewicz
Age: 60
Occupation: Milwaukee Circuit Court judge
Residence: Franklin
Campaign website: https://www.janetforjustice.com/
Daniel Kelly
Age: 59
Occupation: Attorney, former state Supreme Court justice
Residence: Ottawa
Campaign website: https://justicedanielkelly.com/
8th Senate District
GOP state Rep. Dan Knodl declared victory over environmental attorney Jodi Habush Sinykin in the special election is to fill the remainder of former GOP Sen. Alberta Darling’s term. With 99 percent of the vote in, Knodl was at 38,504 votes, or 50.9 percent, and Habush Sinykin was at 37,208 votes, or 49.1 percent.
See WisPolitics election night coverage here.
See below for brief bios and read about their positions on key issues from recent WisPolitics.com interviews here.
See recent ads at Ad Watch.
Dan Knodl, R
Age: 64
Occupation: Represents Assembly District 24, resort owner
Residence: Germantown
Campaign website: https://www.danknodl.org/
Jodi Habush Sinykin, D
Age: 55
Occupation: Attorney
Residence: Whitefish Bay
Campaign website: https://www.jodiforsenate.com/
Referendums
Questions to amend the state Constitution to overhaul bail policies passed easily.
The first question on allowing judges to consider “serious harm” and not just “serious bodily harm” in setting bail was approved by 66.5 percent of voters.
A question on expanding the list of factors judges can consider while setting bail was backed by 67.6 percent of voters.
Meanwhile, an advisory referendum on whether able-bodied, childless adults should meet work requirements to qualify for state assistance passed by an even larger margin, with 79.5 percent of voters supporting it.
