Chris Taylor’s landslide win Tuesday expanded liberals’ grip on the state Supreme Court and sent a message that Wisconsin’s battleground status has shifted in ways Republicans can’t ignore heading into 2027.
By Wisconsin Desk | The Great Lakes Gazette
At 8:36 p.m. Tuesday, the Associated Press called the Wisconsin Supreme Court race for Chris Taylor. At the Madison Concourse Hotel, the crowd erupted. Forty-five minutes east in Pewaukee, Maria Lazar walked into a ballroom where reporters outnumbered supporters, country music played softly overhead, and the phrase “when a door closes, a window opens” had to carry the weight of the evening.
Taylor, a state appeals court judge from Dane County and a former Democratic state legislator, defeated Lazar a conservative appeals judge and former aide in Republican ex-Gov. Scott Walker’s administration by roughly 20 percentage points. That’s not a win. That’s a statement.
Wisconsin Supreme Court election — April 7, 2026
| Metric | Figure | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Chris Taylor (Lib.) | Dane County appeals judge |
| Loser | Maria Lazar (Con.) | Waukesha County appeals judge |
| Taylor’s winning margin | ~20 points | Decisive — not a squeaker |
| Overperformance vs. 2024 presidential result | +21 points | Democrats ran well ahead of Biden baseline |
| Overperformance vs. last Supreme Court race | +10 points | Liberal swing deepening |
| New liberal majority on Wisconsin Supreme Court | 5–2 | Was 4–3 before Taylor’s win |
| Conservative majority possible before | 2028 earliest | Majority now locked for years |
| Consecutive liberal Wisc. Supreme Court wins | 4 in a row | Since 2023 |
| Dem wins in last 6 Wisc. Supreme Court races | 5 of 6 | Structural, not cyclical |
| Dem/Dem-aligned statewide Wisc. wins since 2017 | 19 of 24 | Consistent margin-building |
| Taylor’s term length | 10 years | Replacing retiring conservative Rebecca Bradley |
| Next open conservative seat | 2027 | Justice Annette Ziegler not seeking third term |
Sources: AP, NBC News, Wisconsin Public Radio, CNN, Washington Post -( April 7–8, 2026)
“Politics has no place in the judiciary, and the judiciary is not a rubber stamp for any party, group, or branch of government including the federal government.”—Justice-elect Chris Taylor, election night remarks, Madison Concourse Hotel
Taylor ran hard on abortion rights and voting protections, the same message that powered liberal judicial candidates in prior cycles. She was a former policy director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin a fact her campaign never shied from. Without naming Trump by name Tuesday night, she framed the race in terms that Madison crowds understood immediately.
The practical consequences are real and lasting. With a 5–2 majority now secured, Wisconsin’s high court will weigh in on abortion access, redistricting maps drawn after the 2030 census, and election administration disputes for years ahead. Conservatives cannot reclaim the court’s direction until at least 2028 at the earliest.
For Republicans, the post-mortem is going to be uncomfortable. Lazar entered the race late not until October, after Justice Bradley announced she wouldn’t seek reelection. Taylor had been building infrastructure since May. “This has been an uphill battle,” Lazar told her supporters before conceding. That was true from the starting gun. And 2027 brings another open seat, another race, and another chance for Democrats to turn what’s now a majority into something closer to a dynasty.
