Tuesday's Wisconsin Supreme Court election isn't technically for ideological control, but stakes are as high as they ever have been.
Partisan Democrat Lisa Neubauer has revealed herself to be an ethically questionable ideologue, refusing to recuse herself from cases involving her family's business and using her political connections and massive political donations to secure a dramatic increase in her business' state contracts immediately after her appointment to the bench.
As if that weren't enough, she continued to donate tens of thousands of dollars to Democrats and engage in partisan political activities long after her appointment, finding a loophole to skirt Wisconsin's Code of Judicial Conduct.
Conservative Brian Hagedorn is the only thing standing in the way of liberals standing on the precipice of taking control of the Court. Should Hagedorn lose, Neubauer will join fellow liberals Ann Walsh Bradley and Rebecca Dallet with conservative Dan Kelly up for re-election in the Spring of 2020.
Normally this wouldn't be a huge issue as incumbents generally enjoy an electoral advantage, but Kelly won't just be running against an opponent. He will be running against the Democratic presidential primary.
Since Republicans in the Legislature were unable to change the date of Wisconsin's presidential primary, it will appear on the same ballot in the supposedly non-partisan Spring Election. In such a hotly contested Democratic primary, every liberal in the state will turn out--giving Kelly's opponent a massive advantage.
That's why it is imperative that conservatives turn out for Hagedorn now, U.S. Senator Ron Johnson said on the Dan O'Donnell Show Monday morning:
State Senator Duey Stroebel, too, understands the significance of the Supreme Court race, penning an op-ed at Right Wisconsin outlining Neubauer's shameless partisanship:
The philosophy advanced by Brian’s opponent is nothing more than a poorly veiled political doctrine. Instead of tracking closely the unambiguous and plain meaning of statutory language, like the Dane County judge, Neubauer believes a judge has the power to “correct” the legislature when it has advanced a policy that it believes to be “unjust.” While judges must certainly serve as guardians of constitutional rights, they should only exercise authority when legislative acts are clearly inconsistent with core constitutional principles.
Correcting what it views as “bad” policy is nothing more than tyranny of the judiciary. And this is exactly the philosophy advanced by Neubauer and her special interest allies like Planned Parenthood.
Senator Stroebel discussed his thoughts on the race on Monday's Dan O'Donnell Show:
The stakes are as high as they've ever been, so make sure to get out and vote on Tuesday. Wisconsin's future quite literally depends on it.