Wisconsin Supreme Court primary to narrow field to 2

By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court primary features two candidates trying to win over more liberal voters and one who is squarely backed by conservatives.

The two highest vote-getters in the officially nonpartisan primary Tuesday will face one another in the April 3 election.
Madison attorney Tim Burns and Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Rebecca Dallet were trying to appeal to Democrats in the race. Sauk County Circuit Judge Michael Screnock has the backing of the state Republican Party, anti-abortion groups and the National Rifle Association.

The winner will replace retiring Justice Michael Gableman on the court. He is part of a five-justice conservative majority. There are two liberal justices.

Burns took the unusual approach of identifying as a Democrat and stating his support for numerous liberal issues, including fighting voter ID requirements and arguing for income equality. He argued that it’s a farce to call Supreme Court races nonpartisan given how much money liberal and conservative interests put into the races.

Dallet, first elected judge in 2008, also tried to win over Democrats, running an ad critical of President Donald Trump and saying the state Supreme Court was wrong to end an investigation into Republican Gov. Scott Walker. She became more outspoken in her positions in reaction to Burns, presenting herself as an advocate for women’s rights, saying the Supreme Court was wrong to uphold Walker’s Act 10 collective bargaining law and fighting mass incarceration of minorities.

Screnock was appointed as a judge by Walker in 2015. He previously worked as an attorney defending the Act 10 law and legislative maps drawn by Republicans that are now being challenged before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Screnock argued he was the only candidate in the race running on his judicial philosophy and not political ideology. Screnock said he believed in upholding the rule of law and in a strict interpretation of the state constitution.

The Republican Party and conservative groups spent more than $670,000 supporting Screnock. Burns won the backing of several current and former liberal lawmakers and groups, including U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan and Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling. Dallet had the backing of more than 200 judges and 150 other elected officials across the state.