The event is just one of many partisan gatherings the candidates in the nonpartisan-in-name-only race have attended. Both candidates are also accepting large donations from partisans, including the Democratic and Republican parties, as both sides fight for control of the court in the battleground state.
Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, a former Republican attorney general, faces liberal Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford in the April 1 election. The race will determine whether liberals maintain their 4-3 majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court or it flips to conservative control.
The possibility of redrawing Wisconsin's congressional district boundaries is just one of several major issues the court could tackle, in addition to abortion rights, election laws and union rights. The liberal-controlled court in December 2023 ordered new legislative maps, which Democrats credited with them gaining seats in November.
Now Democrats are hoping the court will redraw congressional lines. The state Supreme Court in March declined to take up a congressional redistricting case brought by Democrats.
The Wisconsin Republican Party on Wednesday accused Crawford of “selling two of Wisconsin's seats” in Congress because of her participation in a event with Democratic donors organized by the liberal group Focus for Democracy. The email invitation to the Jan. 13 event billed it as a “chance to put two more House seats in play for 2026.”
